Joule Thief

Workshop
Mentor: Jakob Harisch
Concept: Stefan Doepner and Jakob Harisch
Slovenia, 2014

Monday, 8 December 2014; Mestna galerija Nova Gorica

Would you like to know how to light up a LED diode using an old, flat battery? You are cordially invited to the joule thief circuit building workshop, where you will learn to build circuits for using up old batteries using a hacking procedure and DIY approach. In the course of the building process, we will recycle discarded batteries and parts of old computers, discuss, test and finally create social circuits.

The main effect of the joule thief circuit is to squeeze out the power required by LED diodes from nearly empty batteries. In normal conditions, LED diodes require 3 to 3.5 volts, and the joule thief circuit makes it possible for us to use nearly empty batteries to power LED diodes – as low as 0.3 V. This is the threshold where electronic devices no longer react, and using the joule thief, we can squeeze out even the last remaining power.