BRILLIANCE IN A CHILD

16-year-old Ann Makosinski, from Victoria, Canada, has come up with a marvelous invention – a flashlight powered solely by body-heat. Her project won second prize at a local science fair, and made it all the way to the 2013 Google Science Fair, where she was declared the winner for her age group. She also updated it to a handsfree version this year – a body-heat powered headlamp, for which she won the 2014 Weston Youth Innovation Award.

Ann’s project is truly remarkable for its sheer simplicity and brilliance. I mean, it isn’t every day that you come across a light source that doesn’t use batteries, solar power, or wind energy. The device just powers on as soon as you hold it in your palm. If that isn’t genius, I don’t know what is!

The secret behind Ann’s invention is thermoelectric technology, and devices called Peltier tiles. And it’s really surprising that no one’s ever thought to use that kind of technology to power a flashlight before. Think of all the AA batteries we could avoid using!

Ann, who is half-Filipino, said that she got the idea for her project when she was talking to a friend in the Philippines who didn’t have electricity. The friend was unable to complete her homework and was doing badly at school. “That was the inspiration for my project,” she said. “I just wanted to help my friend and my flashlight was a possible solution.”

As she pondered over the problem, Ann remembered that she had read about humans being walking 100-volt light bulbs. “I thought, why not body heat? We have so much heat radiating out of us and it’s being wasted,” she explained. She began by designing a few prototypes and several months later, her ‘hollow flashlight’ was ready.

Ann said she named the flashlight ‘hollow’ because it has a hollow aluminum tube at its core that cools the sides of the Peltier tiles attached to the flashlight’s cylinder. The other side is warmed by heat from the hand that grips the device, or in case of the headlamp, the head that touches it.

When she showed the device to her parents, who are also electronics-lovers, they were quite surprised at first. “I didn’t believe it, I had to inspect the circuit,” her father said. “I said, ‘what did you do here, do you have a hidden battery on the other side?’”

FEDERAL GOVERMENT DECIDES

The Federal Government Nigeria has ordered that all primary and secondary schools should remain shut until October 13, 2014 due to the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in the country.

Notes on why NLC Bars Members From Three Countries.

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Abdulwaheed Omar, on Tuesday revealed that members of the organised labour from three countries were barred from attending its last meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital.

Daily Independent reports that the president, while speaking at the opening of the 2014 Rain School training workshop currently taking place at the Workers’ Solidarity Centre in the aforementioned state, listed the affected countries to include Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

He explained that they were barred following the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD), which is more prevalent in the three West African countries since it broke out in February 2014.

As Related: NLC Condemns Heavy Armed Security Agents In Osun State

“Efforts by members of the Organised Labour from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea to undergo screening before coming to Nigeria to attend the training workshop were in the last minutes turned down by the Nigerian government agencies due to the current Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) ravaging the West African countries” he said.

Two Separate Attacks Claims 40 In Nasarawa.

Forty people on Tuesday reportedly lost their lives in Nasarawa State following a renewed crisis between Eggon ethnicity and Fulani herdsmen.

Nigerian Tribune reports that about 15,000 persons, comprising women and children, who were displaced due to the conflict are currently sheltering in some places in Lafia, the state capital.

According to reports from the community, residents have continued to desert their communities over fear of reprisal attacks from the suspected Fulani herdsmen.

It was gathered that brawl started on Sunday, over the alleged destruction of farm belonging to an Eggon farmer, at Alingani community, in Lafia local Government Area of the state, by some Fulani herdsmen, which led to a bloodbath that claimed 25 people from both side.