Providing light for the poor

A Facebook friend posted an interesting video highlighting the Soccket, a soccer ball which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy.  Apparently, a lot of Africans use kerosene lamps at night and it's known the fumes are bad for them and bad for the environment.  The ball has a magnet inside a coil.  When the ball is struck, the magnet moves through the coil inducing a current.  The resulting electricity is then stored in a battery.  The claim is 15 minutes of play can power an LED light for 3 hours or perhaps charge up a cell phone though it seems strange that poor people would rock a cell phone.  Anyhow, the downside is the ball is a little heavier than regulation and the system is unlikely going to provide enough voltage to power major electronics.  However, it's a great idea and LED lights do not require much juice.  If these soccer balls could provide kids with exercise and energy and reduce the amount of kerosene burnt, we all win.

For those wondering how poor people are going to afford the ball, they'll get it free if richer folk buy enough.  Not a bad idea since it's helping people out without giving them a handout.

The ball was conceived by four Harvard engineering chicks in a class so score one for the Ivy League.  It's good to see American innovation is still alive.  Longtime readers know I'm a big proponent of powering our vices with exercise.  My challenge list requires me to purchase a pedal powered system - I would pedal a bike to charge up a battery.  I could restrict myself to only watching TV if I've pedaled up enough juice or something like that.

It would be great if American parents required their kids to power their computers or cell phones with this ball or something similar.  I bet you could store up a lot of juice from the impact of a bat hitting a baseball.