A student from Cork has won a major international prize for her science project to recharge batteries in a tumble dryer.
Hannah Hayes (16), from Glounthaune, who is going into fifth year at Midleton College in Cork, developed the new method to recharge ordinary batteries using a rotating ball placed inside a tumble dryer.
She picked up several prizes for her science projects at the recent 2010 Shanghai International New Science and Technology Expo.
Here’s our interview with Hannah at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition last January, in which she explained how her invention works…
“I started thinking about how we are using more and more household batteries in our homes,” “Many people are unaware that batteries should be recycled and they are often just thrown out with regular household waste, which pollutes and damages our environment.
“Rechargeable batteries are a better solution but they still require electricity for charging. I realised that there are many household appliances that use kinetic energy and the idea grew from there.”
- Hannah Hayes explains her invention in today’s Irish Times
After taking second place in her category at the Young Scientist, Hannah has done further research on the “tumble charger” as part of the Business Mentoring Programme in Trinity College Dublin.
She is receiving 12 months of expert support in developing her prototype, with the possibility of putting it into production.
Hannah then travelled on a scholarship to the Shanghai Expo with fellow student Beth Wardle (16). They worked jointly on a second prize-winning project, “Kiwi 3″, which investigates various filter media to extract DNA from fruit.
In Shanghai, Hannah was also awarded a major prize for “best thesis”, and the duo from Middleton won a “best display” prize for their stand.
Learn more
Find out more about the 2011 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition – the closing date for entries is 4 October 2010.
Read a quick explanation of the difference between potential energy and kinetic energy
Test your knowledge of kinetic energy at the Physics Classroom
