Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Odds and ends, iPhone
iYo Yo-Yo almost certainly doesn't work
Seriously? I have to say: I don't buy it. I really don't believe that you could pull enough power to charge an iPhone out of an inducting yo-yo, but that is apparently exactly what the iYo Yo-Yo claims to be. It's not actually in production yet (or even produced, singular -- there's a demo of a rendered unit running on the site), so I'm as skeptical as James Randi at an astrologists' convention.
Not to mention that nothing developer Peter Thuvander would actually be able to release could have that logo on it -- even if it did work, Apple would just release their own anyway, and then pay Pete twenty years later, right? But some people will do anything for alternative energy these days, including believing that a yo-yo could power your iPhone. Someone call the Mythbusters!
[via Engadget]
Not to mention that nothing developer Peter Thuvander would actually be able to release could have that logo on it -- even if it did work, Apple would just release their own anyway, and then pay Pete twenty years later, right? But some people will do anything for alternative energy these days, including believing that a yo-yo could power your iPhone. Someone call the Mythbusters!
[via Engadget]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
brian said 8:44AM on 9-27-2008
uh.. i believe it could work.. work out something like the yomega fireball/brain, and 1 throw can have the thing spinning for over a minute.. and have it charge an internal battery
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Jash Sayani said 3:06AM on 9-28-2008
Yeah it can work if you are willing to play with your Yoyo fir 734 hours to get some battery !
KarlW said 8:01AM on 9-29-2008
I doubt it would work. You need wires to intersect magnetic flux lines, so you'd have one side a magnet, and one side full of tiny wires. The problem is that both sides spin in the same direction, at the same speed. Their relative speeds would be zero. You wouldn't get any flux intersection, and hence would not generate any electricity.
I don't see how you could get this to work. There are so many problems, not to mention conservation of energy.
DWes said 9:24AM on 9-27-2008
Nobody believe you could charge a laptop by turning a crank, either.
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Bill Waggoner said 10:04AM on 9-27-2008
Unfortunately, physics is against him. He has a rotating part and a non-rotating part. That's good because you need to move the magnet past the coil (or vice-versa) in order to generate the electricity. But there isn't anything that will keep the non-rotating part still. And in a generator there is a lot of "magnetic friction" (I think it's called hysteresis) between the parts. If you have ever been to a science museum where they have a hand-crank generator; when there is no load it's easy to crank, some load is harder, and full load it takes a lot of effort. Well, the yo-yo has to do that work too to generate the electricity.
Now, if he changes it to one where you hold the yo-yo in one hand and pull the string out with the other, that might work. But it's not going to work doing loop-the-loops and walk-the-dogs!
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brian said 10:41AM on 9-27-2008
as i said.. examine the yomega fireball.. its like a regular yoyo, except the string is wrapped around a plastic cylinder, and that cylinder is what spins on the metal axel of the yoyo.. so, the plastic cylinder is the non-rotating part, which is kept still by the string.. make the cylinder a magnet, and a coil in the yoyo..
brian said 10:44AM on 9-27-2008
sorry, i should clarify that this involves a "sleeper" maneuver to keep the yoyo spinning.. and a quick yank to get the yoyo to return after it starts slowing down
Niklas said 10:03AM on 9-27-2008
You are actually skeptical about the feasibility of hand-cranked products, like this one, which is being produced and sold?
http://www.potenco.com/products
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Bill Waggoner said 10:45AM on 9-27-2008
Except that for the yomega the "still" part is still because of inertia and a good bearing. Once you add in the generator parts it's going to want to go spinning with the moving parts pretty quickly.
I took a look at the gadget that Niklas pointed too and that's exactly what I had in mind. Kind of a two-handed yo-yo.
Don't you just hate it when someone steals your idea!
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Ed said 10:50AM on 9-27-2008
Back when I was at school 10 or so years ago, here in the UK, Yo-Yos were all the craze. There were loads of types, but some had little LEDs on them that flashed as they spun around. Presumably these worked on a similar principle. That said, LEDs are very low power...
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Jesse said 12:41PM on 9-27-2008
I too remember the yo-yo craze back here in the States. When I was in middle school, yo-yos where the thing to have. The fad only lasted a few years, though.
John said 8:17PM on 9-27-2008
Actually, there would be a tiny battery in those yo-yo's to drive the LED's. The centripital acceleration of a mass in the yo-yo when it spun would complete a circuit, which would turn them on.
lanejasper69 said 1:34PM on 9-27-2008
This doesn't seem efficient to charge an iPhone, you'd have to "yo Yo" for hours for a full charge probably and as soon as it starts collecting dust n stuff, I can see a big tangled mess with no more "Go" left in the "YO".
Seems like a big silly crackpot invention to me. we'l see and yes, the Apple logo on it will NEVER fly, and Apple probably isn't going to purchase the thing either, so let's keep it simple shall we and just have fun with our "Duncans". ;-)
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LuminousNerd said 5:40PM on 9-27-2008
What do you mean it wouldn't work? Do you have any understanding of generating power whatsoever? Didn't think so. So don't pass judgement when you obviously don't know what the hell you're talking about.
This could easily work. Yo-yos turn a lot, really fast, they could most certainly generate power.
It might be a bit impractical, but it's cool, and to say it wouldn't work is flat out ignorant.
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Abcmsaj said 3:08PM on 9-28-2008
Aww cmon!
Electromagnetism? Would work a treat with a yo yo!
I'm buying one of these as soon as it's out..
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