Charge Your Phone With a Cold Beer

The Epiphany One Puck project on Kickstarter is looking to charge up your phone by harnessing the power of hot and cold drinks.

From cold drink to charged phone.
(Credit: Epiphany Labs)

The Epiphany One Puck may well be the world’s most awesome coaster. It may also be the most useful. The One Puck doesn’t just protect your coffee table from drink sweat, it also charges up your smartphone. You don’t have to plug the Puck into an outlet. It uses a small Stirling engine to provide the power. The device has two sides, one red and one blue. Place a hot drink on the red side, or a cold drink on the blue side.

Stirling engines have been around since the 1800s. They work by turning heat disparities into energy. Epiphany Labs has built a working prototype of its One Puck, though the company is still vague on just how long it takes for the device to charge up a phone. There are a lot of variables at play, including how hot or cold the source is. Any source of heat that can fit on the Puck will work, though I don’t know how much energy a warm cat would produce. It works best with something that’s very warm (like a steaming cup of tea) or very cold (like a frosty brewski).

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57568233-1/charge-your-phone-with-a-cold-beer/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

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