Electrets Constructed from Co-axial Cable (pag. 675) There is a device which is not widely known.

It is called an "electret" and I have to confess that my knowledge of them is almost zero. Essentially, an electret is a passive device which pours out electrical energy. I do not know where that electrical energy comes from. The Wikipedia encyclopaedia has some highly technical information on the subject remarking that "tunnel ionisation" is a process in which the electrons in an atom can pass through the atom's potential (voltage) barrier and escape from the atom. In an intense electric field, the potential barrier of an atom is distorted drastically and so the length of the barrier through which electrons have to pass, decreases and electrons can escape quite easily. The atoms spoken of here, might be those of a dielectric which could form an electret. One method which has been used in the past to make an electret, has been to alter the structure of certain types of wax. A more convenient method is to use a reel of standard co-axial cable which is the sort of cable used to connect television aerials to television receivers:

An electret of that type can produce 10,000 volts at 10 milliamps. The current flow of 10 milliamps sounds trivial and of no consequence, but that is not actually the case as the power of 10 milliamps at 10,000 volts is 100 watts, so imagine a 100 watt light bulb brightly lit and not needing any power input at all to make it shine. That is actually, quite impressive. PLEASE NOTE THAT 10,000 VOLTS WILL KILL YOU AND INVESTIGATING A DEVICE OF THIS TYPE IS NOT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT ALREADY FAMILIAR WITH WORKING SAFELY WITH VERY HIGH VOLTAGES. MEASUREMENTS MUST ONLY BE MADE WITH HIGH-VOLTAGE EQUIPMENT. LET ME STRESS AGAIN THAT I AM NOT ENCOURAGING YOU TO MAKE OR EXPERIMENT WITH ANY FORM OF HIGH VOLTAGE DEVICE AND THAT THIS INFORMATION IS FOR YOUR INTEREST ONLY. The arrangement with a single reel of cable is:

Unfortunately, life being what it is, it has been found that when you try stepping that voltage output down to a more convenient level, there are liable to be losses which can lower the output power to just 50 watts. That sounds disappointing until you put it in perspective. This is a device which has the same output as a 50 watt solar panel in full sunlight, mounted at the optimum angle and positioned near the equator, but a home installation of such a panel gives far lower output, especially so when your home is a long way from the equator. But, note that the electret costs far less, produces that full output at any latitude and at night, while the solar panel is restricted by cloud cover, distance from the equator, needs an expensive mounting system, ideally should rotate to track the position of the sun, and only works when there is a high light level. So, the electret's fifty watts of continuous power is not an insignificant thing when you compare it to the other options available. These electrets can be stacked in parallel and an output in the kilowatts range is possible. Let me stress that I personally have not yet made or used a co-axial cable electret, and so the information here comes from an experimenter who has done this. Also, while the information here is intended to help anyone who wishes to experiment along these lines, the fact that it is here must not be interpreted as my encouraging you personally to try to make or use an electret of this or any other type. If you choose to do that, then you do so entirely at your own risk and nobody other than yourself is liable should any mishap occur. The following procedure has been used to convert a full reel of 1/4", type RG6/U 75-ohms, 18-AWG co-axial cable into an electret: 1. Make sure that neither end of the cable has the screen touching the central core. 2. Make an electrical connections to both the screen and the core at both ends of the cable.

3. Place the whole of the spool of cable inside an oven. 4. Heat the oven (a genuine oven and not a microwave) slowly to 350o F (180oC). 5. Maintain the heat until the inner plastic insulation is so soft that it can be permanently indented. This plastic must not get too soft and reach the flowing stage, nor must it get burnt or develop holes which allow arcing - if that happens, then the reel of cable is a throwaway. The objective here is to get the plastic to lose it's polarisation memory. 6. When the inner plastic sleeve has reached this level of softness, apply a steady DC voltage of about 10,000 volts to the connections already made to one end of the cable (to the screen and to the core). Although any voltage from 12V to 20,000V can be used, a 10 mA current draw can be expected when using 10,000V. Maintain this applied voltage at the high temperature for about ten minutes. 7. Turn off the heat and let the oven cool down gradually at its own rate to the 25OC to 30OC region, keeping the high voltage attached to one end of the cable. 8. Disconnect the DC voltage. 9. Connect the cable screen to the central core at both ends of the cable. 10. Leave the cable at room temperature for five to seven days. During this time, the polarisation of the plastic is reorganising. After this time, the electret is ready for use as a power source.