Super-Dangerous Bat Hook Sneaks Juice From Power Lines

We already have a plethora of gadget charging devices that don’t need to be plugged in to household outlets: solar chargers, chargers that use foot heat, chargers that use human motion, and a host of other types. But it’s a pain to tote all of those gadgets around, and they take time to work. What if there were a way to instantly get access to electricity even when there are no outlets and there’s no time for a solar charge? Well, the average person will probably never have access to this gadget, but it’s a fantastic innovation for trained military professionals.

The gizmo consists of a small box with an embedded razor blade; you throw the box over a power line and pull it until the blade pierces the outer layer of the line. Electricity is send down the attached cord and can be used to charge gadgets, jump-start a car or provide power for whatever is needed. It’s clear to see why this particular innovation is too dangerous to ever be a consumer product (not to mention the fact that the power companies wouldn’t take kindly to it), but for government and military agencies carrying out operations in remote locations, it can provide life-saving power in an emergency…provided they can hunt down a power line.

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See more in Energy & Power or under Science. June, 2010.