Introduction

Ann Makosinski from Victoria, British Columbia,

has an LED flashlight powered by body heat.
This inventor has a flashlight that glows when
she holds it. The story gets more interesting,
though. She is 15 years old and her flashlight
has got her into the finalist ranks for the Google
Science Fair. Her work is a result of a general
interest in alternative energy. She said that she
is "really interested in harvesting surplus
energy, energy that surrounds but we never
really use." Enter the Hollow Flashlight, which
works according to the thermoelectric effect—
creating electric voltage out of temperature
difference. As a Grade 10 student at St.
Michaels University School in Victoria, she was
deciding on a topic for a science project when
she discovered the Peltier tile, producing
electricity when one side of the tile is heated
while the other side is cooled.
"Using four Peltier tiles and the temperature
difference between the palm of the hand and
ambient air, " she said in her project statement,
"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."
She ran some calculations to see if the warmth
from a human hand could generate enough
energy via a tile to power a flashlight. She
presented her hypothesis:" If I can capture
enough heat from a human hand and convert it
efficiently to electricity, then I can power a
flashlight without any batteries or kinetic
energy." She presented her objective: "To make
a flashlight that runs on the heat of the human
hand."
 Idea Behind
Ann Makosinski of Canada had invented
HOLLOW FLASHLIGHT, which won the 15-16
age group category of the Google Science Fair.
The basic principle of the Hollow Flashlight is
Peltier Effect
Makosinksi’s flashlight runs on four Peltier tiles,
which convert heat into energy using the
temperature differential between a person’s
hand and the ambient air.

Principle
The thermoelectric effect is the direct
conversion of temperature differences to
electric voltage and vice versa. A thermoelectric
device creates voltage when there is a different
temperature on each side. Conversely, when a
voltage is applied to it, it creates a temperature
difference. At the atomic scale, an applied
temperature gradient causes charge carriers in
the material to diffuse from the hot side to the
cold side.
 Model
The thermoelectric effect is the direct
conversion of temperature differences to
electric voltage and vice versa.
A thermoelectric device creates voltage when
there is a different temperature on each side.
Conversely, when a voltage is applied to it, it
creates a temperature difference.
At the atomic scale, an applied temperature
gradient causes charge carriers in the material
to diffuse from the hot side to the cold side.

Working
The tiles are fixed to the outside of a hollow
tube. One side of the tile is heated by the
warmth of the hand, while air flowing through
the hollow tube helps keep the other side cool.
The electricity generated by the temperature
differential between either side of the tile
powers the LED light.
 Better Working
Flashlight work better when the difference
between the ambient temperature and body
temperature is greater.So while the flashlights
worked with an air temperature of 10°C (50° F),
they emitted more light with the air temperature
at 5°C (41° F).It is capable to maintain a steady
beam of light for 20 minutes, even in the
warmer temperature.

Advantages
Only needs a five degree temperature
difference to work and produce up to 5.4 mW at
5 foot candles of brightness.
Harvesting energy, like with this flashlight, can
provide a lot of potential for powering small
devices without necessarily having to have
batteries
We use an enormous amount of batteries," said
Albin Gasiewski of the Center for Environmental
Technology. "Most of them are not
rechargeable and end up in landfills." Hollow
Flashlight could make a difference.
 CONCLUSION
Only needs a five degree temperature
difference to work and produce up to 5.4 mW at
5 foot candles of brightness.
Harvesting energy, like with this flashlight, can
provide a lot of potential for powering small
devices without necessarily having to have
batteries.
We use an enormous amount of batteries," said
Albin Gasiewski of the Center for Environmental
Technology. "Most of them are not
rechargeable and end up in landfills." Hollow
Flashlight could make a difference.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. www.Google.com
2. www.slideshare.net
3. www.physics.org
4. www.Googlesciencefair.com