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It seems that dielectric material exhibits some spontaneous self-potential of some sorts. This effect is called Petrovoltaic, or solid-state energy. Things like rocks, concrete, and even capacitors show this effect. The petrovoltaic effect is still very mysterious and some even stated that it is merely a electrochemical reaction but this can not be confirmed.
I think I've came up with a way to exploit this effect further without really killing the petrovoltaic cells. The cells I've seen to be making the best progress are my concrete cells (70% quick-crete, 20% table salt, and water). These concrete cells have aluminum wire and copper wire and when the cells are wet they are a galvanic battery, so letting it dry is highly important if you want to see the petrovoltaic energy. What is so special about these cells is unlike other concrete cells where they start off above one volt and start to go down as it dries these concrete cells with quite a bit of salt in them start off below a volt and slowly go up in voltage as the cell dries. You can also use the same metals for both plates of the cell, thus showing that a galvanic reaction is not what powering these cells.
I must say that these petrovoltaic cells are not batteries, so they must not be treated like one. What I mean by this is that you should not directly hook up a load such as a LED to the cell. These cells are non-conventional things and hooking it to a conventional electronics is just not good. The energy coming from the cell must be converted and stored, this is done by hooking it to a capacitor. The copper of the cell goes to the positive of the capacitor and the aluminum of the cell goes to the negative of the capacitor. You charge the capacitor and when the capacitor is full you remove it and run your load off the capacitor.
What makes the capacitor so special is that it too is a petrovoltaic cell but is more adapted to our conventional electronics. When the capacitor is hooked to the cell they give each other a good balance and some very interesting charging can be seen.
Also the cells themselves should not be connected in series with other cells of the like, putting them in parallel is fine but don't do series. Putting them in series doesn't fully give greater voltages as like with petrovoltaic cells it can be a negative effect. Also plate size offers faster charging too.
This is not meant to power your house but to show you can get effective power from the petrovoltaic effect with out destroying it. The capacitors take time to charge but once charge they can run the load while the cell relaxes. These cells are very unique, they can be shorted out for long periods of time and bounce back up to the original voltage and amps.
In the picture the white wire is positive and the green wire is negative. The cell is quick-crete and a good bit of salt added and water. mix it til the texture is like oat meal and let it dry for a couple of days, don't give it a load and only connect it to a capacitor so you can charge the capacitor and have the capacitor run the load.
I think I've came up with a way to exploit this effect further without really killing the petrovoltaic cells. The cells I've seen to be making the best progress are my concrete cells (70% quick-crete, 20% table salt, and water). These concrete cells have aluminum wire and copper wire and when the cells are wet they are a galvanic battery, so letting it dry is highly important if you want to see the petrovoltaic energy. What is so special about these cells is unlike other concrete cells where they start off above one volt and start to go down as it dries these concrete cells with quite a bit of salt in them start off below a volt and slowly go up in voltage as the cell dries. You can also use the same metals for both plates of the cell, thus showing that a galvanic reaction is not what powering these cells.
I must say that these petrovoltaic cells are not batteries, so they must not be treated like one. What I mean by this is that you should not directly hook up a load such as a LED to the cell. These cells are non-conventional things and hooking it to a conventional electronics is just not good. The energy coming from the cell must be converted and stored, this is done by hooking it to a capacitor. The copper of the cell goes to the positive of the capacitor and the aluminum of the cell goes to the negative of the capacitor. You charge the capacitor and when the capacitor is full you remove it and run your load off the capacitor.
What makes the capacitor so special is that it too is a petrovoltaic cell but is more adapted to our conventional electronics. When the capacitor is hooked to the cell they give each other a good balance and some very interesting charging can be seen.
Also the cells themselves should not be connected in series with other cells of the like, putting them in parallel is fine but don't do series. Putting them in series doesn't fully give greater voltages as like with petrovoltaic cells it can be a negative effect. Also plate size offers faster charging too.
This is not meant to power your house but to show you can get effective power from the petrovoltaic effect with out destroying it. The capacitors take time to charge but once charge they can run the load while the cell relaxes. These cells are very unique, they can be shorted out for long periods of time and bounce back up to the original voltage and amps.
In the picture the white wire is positive and the green wire is negative. The cell is quick-crete and a good bit of salt added and water. mix it til the texture is like oat meal and let it dry for a couple of days, don't give it a load and only connect it to a capacitor so you can charge the capacitor and have the capacitor run the load.
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