Ann Makosinski, 15, has been making news this summer for her battery-free flashlight, also known a a hollow flashlight.
According to Victoria News , Makosinski’s hollow flashlight is a battery-free flashlight, an ever-ready device powered by the heat of human hands which can stay lit for 20 minutes (according to Makosinki’s own test run).
The Inquisitr reported earlier on Makosinski’s invention reporting on the girl’s project description:
“My objective in my project was to create a flashlight that runs solely on the heat of the human hand.
“Using four Peltier tiles and the temperature difference between the palm of the hand and ambient air, I designed a flashlight that provides bright light without batteries or moving parts.
“My design is ergonomic, thermodynamically efficient, and only needs a five degree temperature difference to work and produce up to 5.4 mW at 5 foot candles of brightness.”
While talking to Mashable’s Eric Larson, Makosinski said that there are possible plans for mass producing her hallow flashlights ,
“A few companies are corresponding with my parents. But there are still quite a lot of improvements to be made before I put this to commercial use. I’m also working on getting a patent right now — so we’ll take it slowly, I guess.”
Makosinski was selected to bring her flashlight to the Google Science Fair on September 21, as a finalist where she’ll compete with 14 other students from around the world.
The winner will receive a $50,000 scholarship and a free trip to the Galapagos Islands.
When Larson asked what Makosinski was most looking forward to about the Google Science Fair, she responded with:
“I think it’s going to be a great experience! Just meeting all these people who are interested in science, like me, and hearing about their ideas and just talking — seriously — about the science field in general. At school, there are less people interested in this area. I’ve been reading about the other projects in this fair, and they all sound incredible, so I can’t wait to meet the people behind them.”
What do you think about Ann Makosinski’s hollow flashlight? To learn more about each Google Science Fair finalist here.
[Image via Youtube/NBCNewsOfficial1]