Can You Charge a Phone with Marbles?

While smartphones are often advertised in terms of computing power, speed, and camera resolution, one might argue that the unsung heroes of these supercomputers-in-your-pocket are actually the batteries. Advancing battery technology has allowed for an array of better portable items, from smartphones to power tools, and even electric cars.

On a larger (i.e. utility), level, storage solutions using potential and kinetic energy conversion may be implemented – such as pumped hydro, which moves water to a physically higher storage tank to be "harvested" later. Engineezy explains how this works in the video below as the background for his phone charging project. Instead of water, he instead uses pumped/lifted marbles as a “Spheroeletric” battery.

Engineezy goes over the math/physics involved in constructing such a setup, but notes around 2:30 in the video that he is just going to start making stuff (and that he may regret it later). After quite a bit of work, the resulting build is a rather involved arrangement of guides, a marble paddle wheel generator, and a marble elevator. It is able to charge his phone, but only for around 30 seconds.

So, is this device a success? As predicted early in the video, it is not particularly efficient, but it also looks like a lot of fun to use, even if there was some frustration building it along the way. Another interesting aspect is the design work that had to be done to keep the marbles flowing. Such concepts could be applicable to factory automation and the like, where part after part needs to flow without interruption.