Electricity from noise pollution

S.S. Verma

We all know that it is possible to produce electricity

from sound. Microphones are the simplest example. But
we can use noise pollution for generating considerable
amount of electricity.

The idea is based on the same scheme as microphone

but for the purpose of generating electricity we can
think of a huge array of microphones installed near Different types of microphones
noisy places to perform like windmill.

It is possible that sound waves at the kinds of noisy sites referred here would carry enough energy to
generate economically useful amounts of electricity for everyday situations. Moreover, there are situations
where small amounts of electricity generated from sound would be of value.

Presently, even if we surrounded the noise place with devices capable of converting that noise into useful
energy we would only capture a tiny amount of the total energy being available in the noise pollution zone
and it would cost a lot of money to do it.

However, it will be great to see this creative idea of converting wasted sound energy into useful energy
working.

Recent advances in energy conversion have also shown a great hope in this direction. Researchers from Los
Alamos National Laboratory and Northrop Grumman Space Technology (USA) have built a compact generator
that converts heat to electricity with the relatively high efficiency of 18 per cent. The generator uses a small
version of a thermoacoustic sterling engine developed at Los Alamos in 1999. That engine converted heat to
acoustic energy using no moving parts. Compressed helium cycles between heat exchangers, and the
movement of the gas generated sound waves. In the generator, the sound waves from the engine drive a
piston, which moves a coiled copper wire. As the wire moves through a magnetic field produced by a
permanent magnet it produces electricity.

The generator is simple, making it potentially long-lived and easy to maintain. This
makes it especially appropriate for generating electricity aboard spacecraft, according
to the researchers. The researchers’ next steps are to better match the engine and
alternator to make the engine more efficient, and to reduce the engine’s volume.

Though noise is undesirable in general but it is indispensable in many cases of its

generation. “Observe silence” slogans never fit to crowded places like bus stations,
railway stations and airports etc. Noise pollution at such places can be put to a
meaningful application if it can be converted into electric energy with the help of an
array of microphones or thermo-acoustic engines. Microphones equipped with powerful
magnets like “Neodymium magnets” can be made smaller, with more linear frequency
response and higher output level. Let us hope that further scientific and technological developments in
microphone technology as well as in thermo-acoustic sterling engine will improve the efficiency of sound
energy conversion into electricity. The noise pollution which is a waste-resource thus can be put into the best
use for mankind.