# Other ways to make electricity **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304 "2018-02-06T14:53:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/1 "2018-02-06T14:53:35Z")
The only way I’m aware of to make electricity on a commercial scale is to spin a copper coil inside a magnetic field. How you get that sucker spinning can involve any number of things–falling water, steam, bobbing a float up and down in water, etc. But the last step of the process always seems to come down to that coil & magnet. Oh, and of course the magic of solar cells which involve…I dunno, microscopic gnomes and shit. But **apart from photovoltaic cells and magnet/coil induction, what other ways are there to power up my lamp?** I’m aware of batteries and capacitors, but I’m not sure I care so much about them as they are mainly storage–once they’re spent you either replace the chemicals or pump electricity back into them. I’m also aware I’m probably abusing the lingo given electricity is not what I’m interested in, but rather the motion of electrons. But you know what I’m getting at, right? ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/2 "2018-02-06T15:01:18Z")
I don’t know of any, except I thought about lightening. That’s electricity, correct? Certainly not created by spinning copper or magnets. EDIT: oops, I missed the phrase “commercial scale”. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/3 "2018-02-06T15:01:44Z")
Seebeck effect > **[Thermoelectric effect | Seebeck effect](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect#Seebeck_effect)** > > The Seebeck effect is the electromotive force (emf) that develops > across two points of an electrically conducting material when there > is a temperature difference between them. > The emf is called the Seebeck emf (or thermo/thermal/thermoelectric emf). The ratio between the emf and temperature difference is the Seebeck coefficient. A thermocouple measures the difference in potential across a hot and cold end for two dissimilar materials. This potential difference is proportional to the temperature d... ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/4 "2018-02-06T15:05:57Z")
Some applications use a thermocouple (dissimilar metals, one side hot other side cold) such as spacecraft used beyond what is practical for solar to work, to a safety system to keep a pilot lite lit for a gas powered water heater. A while back I’ve heard that perhaps thermocouples could replace a car’s alternator, using waste heat to recharge the car battery and to supply the electrical needs of the running car, but I suspect the cost of it would be too high and the power output too low and may not work well for short trips where the car does not get fully warm so would require a alternator anyway. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/5 "2018-02-06T15:14:40Z")
Fuel Cells are one way that doesn’t involve spinning magnets/coils, but I don’t think they are quite fully up to commercial quantities of production yet. A[tutorial](http://americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/basics.htm#q2) here if you want to know how they work. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/6 "2018-02-06T15:26:19Z")
The [Peltier effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect#Peltier_effect) can be used to generate current from materials with a difference in temperature. It’s not terribly efficient. More typically it’s used in the reverse situation, to implement small solid-state heat pumps. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/7 "2018-02-06T15:45:11Z")
The above-mentioned Seeback and Peltier effects are flip sides of the Thermoelectric effect 9as is the thermocouple). All legitimate methods. You can build yourself a battery, which will generate DC electricity. Or, as noted, you can use a fuel cell. Piezoelectricity is different from all the above. I once looked into using it to generate small amounts of power. There are lots of static electricity generators that don’t work at all like the dynamo “spinning coil in a magnetic field” process, which can produce voltage differences – [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrostatic\_generator](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrostatic_generator) And, of course, there’s always the photoelectric effect – get your power from sunlight. ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/8 "2018-02-06T15:45:19Z")
Edit: others beat me to the punch on both the Peltier and piezoelectric effects. For what it’s worth, the term “thermocouple” conventionally refers to a thermoelectric temperature sensor, while a non-sensor device for making significant electric power from a temperature differential is usually called a Peltier device. It’s not wrong to call a Peltier device a thermocouple, of course. Whatever you call them, thermoelectric devices work both ways: they can use a temperature differential to produce electricity or they can use electricity to produce a temperature differential. (Plugging in a Peltier device makes one side cold and the other side hot). In this way, they’re much like spinning magnets and copper coils. If you apply motion, you get electricity. If you apply electricity, you get motion. Peltier devices are often used in both satellites (to generate power) and cheap dorm fridges (to chill cheap beer). They’re solid-state, so they’re much quieter than a compressor-based refrigerator, but they’re also a lot less efficient than a compressor-based fridge, which is why your kitchen fridge uses a compressor. Fuel cells are used all the time, but only for niche applications—often for spacecraft. Honda has done a lot of research on the use of hydrogen fuel cells in cars. It works, but storing hydrogen slush in cars is nontrivial. There are lots of ways to make electricity without spinning magnets in an electric field, but most of those methods are less efficient and/or more expensive than the alternative. There has been a fair amount of research into harvesting energy using piezoelectric materials. These convert motion (usually bending) directly into high-voltage, low-current electricity. (They also convert electricity directly into motion). But for a given cost, you’ll usually make more electricity from the same motion with spinning magnets, so this is another niche technology. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/9 "2018-02-06T16:14:44Z")
Your username should give a hint…🙂 > **[Betavoltaic device](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betavoltaic_device)** > > A betavoltaic device (betavoltaic cell or betavoltaic battery) is a type of nuclear battery which generates electric current from beta particles (electrons) emitted from a radioactive source, using semiconductor junctions. A common source used is the hydrogen isotope tritium. > Unlike most nuclear power sources which use nuclear radiation to generate heat which then is used to generate electricity, betavoltaic devices use a non-thermal conversion process, converting the electron-hole pairs produce... ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/10 "2018-02-06T16:32:05Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > The [Peltier effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_effect#Peltier_effect) can be used to generate current from materials with a difference in temperature. It’s not terribly efficient. More typically it’s used in the reverse situation, to implement small solid-state heat pumps. Not terribly efficient, but with no moving parts it’s extremely reliable and finds use in situations where maintenance access is difficult or impossible. See [radioisotope thermal generator.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator) The [Voyager 1 spacecraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1#Power) has been functioning for 40 years now on an RTG, with (as far as we know) no maintenance. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/11 "2018-02-06T16:33:40Z")
> [@Ignotus](#): > > Your username should give a hint…🙂 > > [Betavoltaic device - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betavoltaic_device) - Blush \* Sorry, I’m not that cool. [B-Rad](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328099/characters/nm0005085?ref_=tt_cl_t1) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/12 "2018-02-06T16:49:06Z")
\*\*\*\*The power from a matter/anti-matter annihilation would do it. Unfortunately, the energy needed to create anti-matter is absurdly high compared to what you get in return, so it is not practical. I read that it would take [\*\*at least 0.89875518×10 to the 14th power joules \*\*](https://www.quora.com/How-much-energy-is-required-to-create-a-single-gram-of-matter-or-anti-matter) to create one gram of anti-matter. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/13 "2018-02-06T16:57:38Z")
Well actually, **Jasmine** , I have a practically unlimited source of antimatter so creation & acquisition is not a problem. Once I introduce it to a Brussels sprout (Yes, I have finally found a reasonable use for them! Can I get a ‘Eureka’!), how do I harness the resultant energy to do electricity stuff? ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/14 "2018-02-06T17:11:55Z")
Fuel cells are also fancy batteries which the OP seems to be not interested. The other method not mentioned so far is the turbo electric effect [Triboelectric effect - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triboelectric_effect) Famously, the Van de Graff generator used this effect for science and entertainment alike [Van de Graaff generator - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_de_Graaff_generator) The other method that comes to mind is the piezoelectric effect [Piezoelectricity - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity) ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/15 "2018-02-06T17:39:33Z")
How about the oft-touted, but never practical [Magnetohydrodynamic generator?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetohydrodynamic_generator) ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/16 "2018-02-06T17:46:54Z")
> [@campp](#): > > I don’t know of any, except I thought about lightening. That’s electricity, correct?. No, it isn’t. I was lightening my car the other day when I unloaded groceries, but no electricity was produced, I’m sure. I was on a diet last week, lightening my body; no electricity there. I was lightening my financial load recently, when I paid off a mortgage, still no electricity. Perhaps you mean [lightning?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning) ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/17 "2018-02-06T17:50:01Z")
There is also osmotic power, gaining energy from differences in salinity of river and ocean water. > **[Osmotic power](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmotic_power)** > > Osmotic power, salinity gradient power or blue energy is the energy available from the difference in the salt concentration between seawater and river water. Two practical methods for this are reverse electrodialysis (RED) and > pressure retarded osmosis (PRO). Both processes rely on osmosis with membranes. The key waste product is brackish water. This byproduct is the result of natural forces that are being harnessed: the flow of fresh water into seas that are made up of salt water. > In 1954, Patt... ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/18 "2018-02-06T18:31:34Z")
There’s…whatever it is that [electric eels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_eel) do to make electricity. Maybe not practical, but certainly enough to power a lamp. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/19 "2018-02-06T18:40:18Z")
Certainly practical, but training them to discharge in sequence at the right time and place is the tricky bit. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304/20 "2018-02-06T18:47:07Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > There’s…whatever it is that [electric eels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_eel) do to make electricity. Maybe not practical, but certainly enough to power a lamp. It’s batteries again, this time with biological components. [http://askanaturalist.com/how-do-electric-eels-generate-electricity/](http://askanaturalist.com/how-do-electric-eels-generate-electricity/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-ways-to-make-electricity/808304.md?page=2)