# Run Your Laptop On Piss **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 21, 2006, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269 "2006-11-21T10:14:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/1 "2006-11-21T10:14:51Z")
[It’s in freakin’ _National Geographic_ and **not** _The Onion_, I swear!](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/08/0818_050818_urinebattery.html) > [@](#): > > To make the battery, Lee and his colleagues soaked a piece of paper in a solution of copper chloride and sandwiched it between strips of magnesium and copper. This sandwich was then laminated between two sheets of transparent plastic. > > When a drop of urine is added to the paper through a slit in the plastic, a chemical reaction takes place that produces electricity, Lee said. > > The prototype battery produced about 1.5 volts, the same as a standard AA battery, and runs for about 90 minutes. Researchers said the power, voltage, and lifetime of the battery can be improved by adjusting the geometry and materials used. > [@](#): > > According to Kammen the technology could even be applied to laptop computers, mp3 players, televisions, and cars. Body-fluid-powered batteries “can do all kinds of things. The issue is how they scale up” to produce more power, he said. How much urine would it take to run your **car** on it? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/2 "2006-11-21T10:33:25Z")
The energy isn’t coming from the urine; it’s coming from the metals. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/3 "2006-11-21T12:00:50Z")
“Yeah. Yeah. No, the project’s almost done. Yeah. Thursday at the latest. No. Yeah, the focus group tested well. [beep beep] What? Oh, hell. Listen, boss, can I call you back? My phone’s dying, I gotta go piss on it.” And just imagine electric cars. Batteries low? Just pull over, get out, open the “gas” tank, insert and relieve yourself. Women may find this slightly more difficult. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/4 "2006-11-21T19:36:04Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] The energy isn’t coming from the urine; it’s coming from the metals. [/QUOTE] Yes, but “A Metal Powered Battery” is **nowhere** _near_ as an eyecatching thread title. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/5 "2006-11-21T20:29:19Z")
I’m waiting on the methane-based power cell that I can poop into. ---
**Author:** ![InappropriateHumor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eb8c5e/32.png) [@InappropriateHumor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InappropriateHumor)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/6 "2006-11-21T20:34:29Z")
[QUOTE=Mindfield] And just imagine electric cars. Batteries low? Just pull over, get out, open the “gas” tank, insert and relieve yourself. Women may find this slightly more difficult. [/QUOTE] Huh, maybe a kink of specialized funnel? I don’t believe a road-side catheter insertion would fly, might draw too much attention. This may require some thought. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/7 "2006-11-21T20:41:23Z")
[QUOTE=InappropriateHumor] Huh, maybe a kink of specialized funnel? I don’t believe a road-side catheter insertion would fly, might draw too much attention. This may require some thought. [/QUOTE] There’s a joke involving a siphon in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/8 "2006-11-21T22:05:06Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] I’m waiting on the methane-based power cell that I can poop into. [/QUOTE] Oh yeah? Is that the newest Nokia? Yeah, you customized the hell out of it..it even looks nice..with the small size…and the buttons…and the screen and such… you know… it’s not bad… **FOR ME TO POOP ON!** ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/9 "2006-11-21T22:10:09Z")
Brings a whole new dimension to “pissing your time away online,” thatsfersure. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/10 "2006-11-22T00:19:08Z")
This is awesome news. I haven’t had a chance to read the thread yet because my battery’s running low, so I’m just going to go for it. How long after I piss on my laptop should I have to wait before it starts charging? ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/11 "2006-11-22T00:26:53Z")
[QUOTE=iamthewalrus(:3=] How long after I piss on my laptop should I have to wait before it starts charging? [/QUOTE] Depends. Is it hourly or does it offer a flat rate? ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/12 "2006-11-22T02:54:55Z")
This could usher in a golden age of on-the-job beer drinking. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/13 "2006-11-22T03:57:05Z")
Not to piss on thread or anything, but this sounds extremely similar to the seawater powered batteries used in emergengy strobes in military flight gear for a long time now. The urine (or seawater) is just the electrolyte for the battery. Not a new concept, just a new twist on it. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/14 "2006-11-22T06:06:42Z")
Some years ago, an IBM R&D magazine published an article by an IBM researcher about using various bodily functions to provide the power to run a wearable laptop computer design. The article did NOT cover using urine-generated hydro-power for this, though the concept was proven years ago by Professor Richard P. Feynman (later Nobel Prize winner). ---
**Author:** ![Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@Spatial\_Rift\_47](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spatial_Rift_47)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/15 "2006-11-22T08:41:09Z")
[QUOTE=Rhubarb] Not to piss on thread or anything, but this sounds extremely similar to the seawater powered batteries used in emergengy strobes in military flight gear for a long time now. The urine (or seawater) is just the electrolyte for the battery. Not a new concept, just a new **twist** on it. [/QUOTE] (bolding mine) :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: _crosses legs_ ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/run-your-laptop-on-piss/381269/16 "2006-11-22T18:52:12Z")
I have always wondered why I see so many pictures of guys exposing themselves in front of their computer monitors. It all makes sense now. They are simply recharging their batteries.