OHM's portable charger

I have been seeing OHM's newest charger on a few gadget websites. The idea behind this is that you put some rare earth magnets on your rear rim and a dynamo under your seat. Viola! Instant power for your iPod, cell phone or whatever rechargeable device you have.

It's a great idea, but I have some serious doubts about how well it work. I'm no engineer, so I could be way off base here. I'm sure someone will correct me if I am.

I currently have a pair of Reelights. I love the lights, but they were kind of a pain to install. Here's why... the lights needed to be really close to the magnets for them to work. Try holding rare earth magnets a few millimeters away from something and you will understand what was so hard. (The hint is to screw the lights on to the bracket until they are almost tight, then align the lights and magnets.)

If the light and the magnet were about a half inch apart, there would be no light. There just was not enough power created to light two LEDs.

Now imagine your read rim and your seat. I think they are a bit more than a half-inch apart. If the power to light two LEDs is not enough at a half-inch, do you really think an iPod could be charged with a gap of a couple of inches?

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