Meet the post-modern Prometheus. It's not a monster made out of cadaver parts that University of Southampton scientists have brought to life with the power of lightning, but a rather smaller target: the Nokia 925 smartphone.
Nokia recruited a team led by Neil Palmer, manager of the Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory, for the undertaking. Using the lab's equipment, the team created artificial lightning bolts, which were captured, tamed, and channeled into the smartphone's battery.
(Credit: Video screenshot by Leslie Katz/CNET)What happened next was a surprise, the scientist said.
"We were amazed to see that the Nokia circuitry somehow stabilized the noisy signal, allowing the battery to be charged in only seconds."
According to Palmer, this experiment proves that a device can be charged by an airborne current. However, we don't recommend standing out in a lightning storm waving your dead phone around like a lunatic semaphore signaller. In fact, lightning -- proper, atmospheric lightning -- is still far too dangerous and unpredictable for use in experiments, never mind practical applications.
You can check out the experiment in the video below. Nokia Lumia 925, we hereby dub thee "Adam."
(Source: Crave Australia)
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