THE PROBLEM
Market is saturated with solar charging devices for outdoors & emergency use. And for good reason too - modern human needs an electric power when outdoors. Yet there aren't many products that generate power when you need it the most - in the darkness or bad weather. Enter the Thermoelectric Power! Take a small device out of the backpack, throw it in the fire and charge away! (well, you need a cooling source as well but read on). An easy to make, completely feasible, inexpensive device without any movable parts that generates a usable electric power from a fire! Gas stoves, grills, campfires, cooking fuel - virtually any heat source, even sun-heated surfaces. When camping or surviving an emergency, the first thing one sets-up is the fire. It is an essential survival element that most people will take care of as a first order of business. Heat from a campfire is abundant, yet vast majority of it is wasted and the light the campfire emits is not enough to get things dome in the dark like cooking, fishing, or even some reading. Dead batteries in a cellphone, radio, and flashlights are also an all too common problem outdoors. Sure you can charge your electronics in your car's lighter outlet (provided the car is nearby) but you would be wasting precious gasoline or risking running down the car battery.
THE SOLUTION
Thermoelectric effect was (http://bit.ly/FRtyHt) discovered centuries ago, but has mostly been overlooked in consumer electronics as a viable power source, possibly due to its low efficiency in harnessing the electricity. However thermoelectric power is currently being considered in a number of heat recovery applications in consumer electronics (e.g. harnessing car exhaust heat). You can read about thermoelectric effect elsewhere but without going into too much detail it works by converting temperature difference into electricity. You need a thermoelectric module - a thin metal plate which heats up on one side and cools on the other. Temperature difference excites electrons and moves it in one direction - creating a current. There are various prototype level products that are floating around the internet but not many commercialized products that I could find. I am proposing an universal charging unit that harnesses the wasted heat of campfire, fireplace fire, or even the heat used to boil a kettle. The charger will have a USB interface so that one can charge nearly any electronic device imaginable and even power an LED lantern real time - a much better light source than fire itself. Finally the device can be a cleverly thought out combination product that uses the cons of thermoelectric effect (need to cool down) to its advantage. Such product could be a water kettle that heats up from under and the water inside acts as a coolant creating the temperature difference. Until the temperatures equalize (water boils), the electricity will flow. Then rinse and repeat (ok, pun was intended). I am sure ingenious Quirky users will have some other great ideas of what this outdoor product will look like in the end. Lets design an outdoor product that gives us a power in the dark!
