US hackette ponders jub-powered iPod
John Latham
Piezo #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 10:48 GMT

Surely you don't need motion to generate electricity, only force?
A proper sports bra with piezo integrated into the loadbearing members would fulfill both support and power requirements.
Not that I've spend much time thinking about this. Cough.
Mark_T
Lester...... #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:11 GMT

You get paid for doing research and stories like this ?
I hate you so much :oÞ~~~~~
Mark
"studied breast motion since 1985" #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:11 GMT

Pfft. I've been doing that assiduously since about 1983! Look at all the affadavits I have! Yes, I know they look like restraining orders, but that's just proof of my dilligence.
I also make available other services:
Laundry cleaning (please wait 28 days for return of panties)
Cancer tests (breast only)
PI (I will follow acceptable clients wherever they go)
Others on arrangement.
(mine's the mac)
Peter Hawkins
Micro generation is not just for the ladies... #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:11 GMT

Anyone who remembers those shots of Linford Christie doing the 100m can see the possibilities for the lads too .... well for some of us anyway!
Kane
Love it... #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:29 GMT

Mammergy
Fantastic stuff!
and..."studied breast motion since 1985".
Where do I get that job?
Ian McNee
A yard of flying boob? #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:29 GMT

Dearest Lester
Did you not challenge Prof Lawson re. the assertion that "a D-cup in a low-support bra can travel as much as 35 inches up and down during exercise"? If this were so such jubs could potentially become deadly weapons and ought to be banned from our streets along with other jihadi-paedo-terror activities like taking photos and walking the streets with your eyes open in the presence of minors.
Kindest regards,
Ian
James
Energy Harvesting #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:29 GMT
See http://www.advancedcerametrics.com/files/File/articles/adcera_200710.pdf.
"Perhaps the most well-known of the
ACI PFC solutions have been those for
active sports equipment for Head NV’s
family of Intelligence™ “smart” tennis
rackets and skis. In these unique products,
the PFC acts as a sensor of vibration,
an energy harvester (converting
that energy to electrical power for the
dampening circuit) and an actuator to
dampen the vibration. The positive
result for the smart skis is better control
and speed, and the result for the tennis
racket application is enhanced comfort,
elimination of tennis elbow and better
control dynamics with the racket. A
number of other consumer-oriented
sporting and leisure goods are in the
works."
You could modify the garment to reduce bounce by harvesting energy to run a damper. This would remove some of the fun as well as making the bra around ten times its size with all the mechanical and electrical add-ons. Still a worthwhile project.
Hywel Thomas
@ Peter Hawkins #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:31 GMT
Never mind the trouser dept, we just need to tap into the wrist motion while watching the hotties charging their iPods.
Onaninetik generators.
Or something.
Mark
'Astounded' #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:31 GMT

You know, the word 'astounded' is thrown around a lot these days.
Once in a good long while, however, a site enters the internets that is truly astonishing. El Reg, you've made my day.
PH angle - too obvious?
Ru
Um, the point of sports bras #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:35 GMT

Is to inhibit motion. If jigglage still occurs, then the sports bra isn't doing its job properly, surely?
One which actually allows jiggle, even if it is dampening the motion by using to drive some sort of generator, isn't going to be as comfortable as one that does not.
Sarah Bee
Re: 'Astounded' #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:35 GMT

>>PH angle - too obvious?
I think you'd be lucky if Paris could generate enough to boil a small travel kettle.
Yeah, it's wrong, but you people are warping my brain.
Hazel Rees
3.5 not 35 #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:38 GMT

sorry to disappoint lads, but a D-cup will only move 3.5 inches up & down not 35inches.
Whilst fun to look at, this amount of movement hurts.
The piezo idea is much more likely to be practical.
Hazel (36D)
Glynn Williams
Re: Re: 'Astounded' #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:53 GMT

Sarah,
So how much energy would you produce while running then? :P
Enquiring minds want to know!
GW
Fluffykins
@Hazel #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:53 GMT
Sarah Bee
Re: Re: 'Astounded' #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 11:53 GMT

Mind your business.
Evil Graham
Don't forget moobs #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 12:01 GMT

Quite a few men could get an iPod going too, given suitable man-boob power harvesting technology.
I think the travel kettle may be out of reach though, even a small one.
Daniel
innovative idea, and all we get here is ... #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 12:08 GMT

... a bunch of knockers.
The one with the dogeared copy of "Swimsuits Monthly" in the pocket, please.
Lukin Brewer
Not enough M in the equation? #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 12:08 GMT

"Let's face it - if you're a double-A marathoner, you're probably not going to get that iPod up and running."
I think she's missed a trick there.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the "Electromotive Falsie", a scientifically designed padded and weighted sports bra for those who want to train harder and charge mp3 players. "Generate power, not a false impression, with the new EMF. Its FSD is AOK."
Anonymous Coward
Anyone remember the TV documentary #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 12:24 GMT

.. that was all about breast motion measurement/analysis? I saw it in my teens and have had a keen interest in the topic ever since!
I remember one of my sisters friends was asked to take part in similar research, she was told she'd be filed topless running on a tredmill.. No headshots and it would be anonymous etc. As a student she thought what the hey, but when she informed them she as a B cup the recruiter looked at her sheets and said, oh, sorry we've already got all the B's we need!
But the overall question is: how come my CS degree didn't have any practical research like this???
SB because his MB's could generate enough power when the oil runs out.
Phil Endecott
@John Latham #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 12:29 GMT
> Surely you don't need motion to generate electricity, only force?
Nope, you need both:
work done = force X distance
power = force X speed
martin
but... #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 12:35 GMT

what about when they go flat?
mine's the strapless 36AAA
Hazel Rees
@Fluffykins #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 12:43 GMT
My gf gets jealous whenever I post pictures.
Last time she didn't untie me for a whole day.
Now that's a good source of energy, nanowires in bondage rope.
Steen Hive
Professor David J C MacKay #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 12:43 GMT

Said boffin could be employed to figure out home many car/miles a day could be saved by covering 10% of the UK in jogging double-D cups.
Of course this introduces another unknown variable: how many extra car/miles are used driving to the power stations.
pete
@Hazel #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 12:43 GMT

You'd be surprised at what some of us lads endure, if one prefers boxer shorts instead of briefs. (no size given nor required)
Squits
Hehe. nice one #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 13:40 GMT

What I like about this one is it's content, the fact that it's nsfw AND has the IT angle.
All those whining bitches silenced, just this once :)
lansalot
WOW ! #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 13:40 GMT

Jeez, that's some co-incidence. I'd been waiting for something to arrive off ebay, and I was reading this article it was handed to me.
Without a word of a lie, it was a little headlamp powered by three double-A's.
Howzat for co-incidence !!
Stu
Fantastic! #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 13:56 GMT

I'm sure I'd get het up enough to generate my own power source seeing these babies in action, n-ot ahhm sayin? eh? eh? eh? sayyyyy no more.
@Sarah Bee - You're like the sole female commentator/moderator in a sea of testosterone. The only thing missing is a webcam on you. "Give us a twirl baby...". ;-)
Kane
Re: Re: 'Astounded' #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 13:56 GMT

I think, Sarah, your giving far too much credit to Ms Hilton's, *ahem*, area. You'd be lucky if you could recharge a calculator on that pair.
Sarah Bee
Re: Fantastic! #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 14:00 GMT

No.
And it's 'commenter', not 'commentator'. Schoolboy aggrandising error...
Anonymous Coward
Funbag powered... #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 14:00 GMT
Missing the conversion to Reg standards here, what's the Romanian Funbag equivalent?
2 RFB = 1 joule is my guess
Sarah Bee
Re: Carbon Credits? #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 14:00 GMT

Erm, I'm happy you have such a lovely buxom ladypal, Anonymous Chap, but since I'm not sure she'd be pleased to have you quoting her in front of a lot of Friday-bored IT industry dribblers, I feel obliged to nix that comment.
I'll accept the usual kickback for saving your relationship. The rest of you, use your imaginati... ah, you're way ahead of me.
caffeine addict
35 inches? #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 14:02 GMT

Bloody hell... Mrs Addict's jubbs are big enough she has to go to Bravissamo for her ipod chargers. Admittedly they've often given me three legs, but moving three feet...?
Not even Angelina Jolie's comedic Tomb Raider 1 free range jubs managed to roam that far...
PH, because she can probably just about get that far through the alphabet...
Law
Re: Re: Re: 'Astounded' #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 14:02 GMT

I would imagine at least a Jigga-watt! :)
elreg@mailinator.com
Obviously... #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 14:29 GMT
My bad, I apologize:
RFB should have been BFB - Bulgarian Funbag, the sole universally accepted standard among elReg readers worldwide.
Anonymous Coward
@Sarah: Re: Carbon Credits? #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 14:36 GMT

@Sarah about my Carbon Credit post. I had already asked the GF permission to post her funny comment. She was happy enough to share with the crowd.
Now I have to go back to her to tell her that I have been disciplined by the Moderatrix instead....
Or do I just have to reword it to point out there are other opportunities to generate power. My girlfriend isn't much of a jogger... but can see the possibilities. hehe...
This is genuine, Green Power Generation which can Save The World from it's Climate Change issues... Research money should be ploughed into this
jubtastic1
Obligatory link to the mash #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 15:19 GMT

"THE RESEARCHER developing an intelligent bra says there is ‘no way’ it is finished and that he may have to carry on studying women’s breasts for decades."
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/health/bra-research-must-go-on%2c-vows-scientist-20071210588/
Morten Ranulf Clausen
Warp? We don't need no steenking warp #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 15:19 GMT

"Yeah, it's wrong, but you people are warping my brain."
No need to thank us, we're just happy to help out in any way possible. Selfless is our middle name. Along with a lot of unpleasant ones but we won't go into that now.
@Law: so one well-endowed Bulgarian would be generating around 2 Jigga-wats. How do we scale this? Distance travelled does drop off rather sharply with size while shape is also a factor. I can feel a research grant coming up... Or at least... Gotta go.
Sam Tana
Just the job #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 15:19 GMT

Peter Hawkins wrote: "Anyone who remembers those shots of Linford Christie doing the 100m can see the possibilities for the lads too .... well for some of us anyway!"
And Professor Wang is surely just the fellow to, er, bring this off...
Morten Ranulf Clausen
Oh dear... #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 15:25 GMT

Now my brain has Jabberwocky stuck in a loop. Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch! Ow...
Math Campbell
London Slang... #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 15:54 GMT

I realise that the Reg, being based in that festering herpes-sore of a city that's known as London will tend to pick up some small amount of City-slang. And I'm a reasonable man, well educated and not prone to violent outbursts. But consider this fair warning;
If you use the term "touch-base" in any article ever again I will hunt you down and rape you to death with a blackberry. OK?
J
Oh... #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 16:10 GMT

And silly me here studying parasite genomes and other exciting subjects... Sheesh, how do I change fields?
Graham Marsden
This thread is... #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 19:07 GMT

... excellent with pictures!
bws
I'm just in awe of: #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 19:07 GMT
1) the idea; reasonably practical for the tasks it is basically designed for.
2) The sales pitch flash video, as I found it quite humorous.
3) all of the puns, punchlines and other witty comments
4) The immediate calling of "el reg's" conversion model
5) The unlimited supply of comments that this could possibly generate should its development come to fruition.
Genius... Pure genius.
Jeffrey Nonken
Bounce factor? #
Posted Friday 27th June 2008 22:23 GMT

It's like regenerative braking -- it's not the movement that generates the power, it's stopping it. The more effective your conversion, the less motion you'll get.
As for cup size vs. travel, it depends on several factors. My wife has had two kids and then lost considerable weight, and is taking martial arts and is in better shape than ever. But when breasts shrink, they sag, and they tend to bounce more. So she's always on the lookout for restrictive bras that are reasonably comfortable. ...And not too expensive.
This has caused her to make such remarks as "You know the pencil test? Well, I pass the typewriter test."
(Sarah, no need to worry about my marriage. Trust me. :)
One interesting thing I noticed on the shockabsorber website was that if you picked either of the middle two activity levels, you get more motion than the "extreme" level. Seemed odd to me.
(And watching those animations made my wince. Ouch. Large bouncing breasts may look sexy but I bet they hurt like hell.)
And with that I'll leave you with a bit of Ogden Nash. Forgive me if I get it wrong, I'm quoting from memory:
Dr. Valentine For Once Dreams of Wealth
Dr. Valentine soon hopes to announce
He's collecting fabulous amounts.
He's invented a new bra
Called Peps-oo-la-la
Which gives more bounce
To the ounce.
andreas koch
So watt? #
Posted Saturday 28th June 2008 19:59 GMT

What a waste of time this bra thing is... ;-)
I'm probably spoiling the fun research, but why would you try a bra generator if automatic watches have been around for about 200 years. Surely the movement of a jogger could power a modified mainspring winding mechanism enough to charge batteries, whereever you attach it.
There's LED torches that are charged with a motion not unlike the one that might be provoked by deep research into this breast motion thing, so why not IPods?
Stick them things on schoolkids at break time and the schools lighting during lessons would come for free.
PDAs, mobiles, handheld games and so on, stick it detachable to outerwear and the wash thing won't be a problem either; possibilities galore!
Mine's the 'PowerMac'
sauerkraut
breast motion #
Posted Sunday 29th June 2008 08:30 GMT

i study breast motion, too. and breast size. and shape.
(o )( o)
heystoopid
So #
Posted Monday 30th June 2008 10:52 GMT

So since the UK ladies on average have two chest sizes bigger then their Euro cousins , would that mean they want to be caught much faster then the lighter fleeter of foot cross channel cousins or so it would seem ?
Hywel Thomas
@fluffykins #
Posted Monday 30th June 2008 10:52 GMT
Turbo Beholder
This obviously causes some overheating #
Posted Monday 30th June 2008 10:52 GMT

> Surely you don't need motion to generate electricity, only force?
Yeah. You just put weight on it and it generates energy — forever. Either like that or E = F*L
> "studied breast motion since 1985".
> Where do I get that job?
(whispering): They have SECRET research facility... ahem.
Charles Manning
Jubs Hah! #
Posted Monday 30th June 2008 10:52 GMT
With my beer belly I could power a ghetto blaster!