15 FIELD GUIDES · 2 WORKED EXAMPLES
What reaches the load?
Distinguish voltage from useful energy, account for storage and auxiliary consumption, and interpret living-energy experiments.
Energy & living interfaces
Start with the question closest to your experiment. Each guide separates the mechanism, an illustrative example, and the evidence needed for the next decision.
Why voltage is not energy
Learn why a voltage reading cannot establish usable energy, and how simultaneous current measurements and a defined time interval change the claim.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDEWhat load matching actually optimizes
Understand maximum power transfer for a resistive source, distinguish it from efficiency, and choose a load using measured operating conditions.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDERead an I–V curve as a family of operating points
Read current–voltage curves without combining incompatible endpoints, and see how sweep direction, settling time, and state affect power claims.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDETurn a power trace into an energy balance
Integrate synchronized voltage and current over time, preserve sign changes, and recognize sampling gaps before converting a power trace to energy.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDEEnergy density and power density answer different questions
Separate how much energy a device stores from how quickly it delivers it, and compare density values only when boundaries and denominators match.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDEChoose the right area denominator
Distinguish footprint, illuminated, geometric, and internal surface area so that power per area describes a clear and reproducible comparison.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDECount the equipment that makes output possible
Build a net energy boundary that includes pumps, lighting, controls, and conditioning, while keeping device output distinct from system performance.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDEWhat a light–dark comparison can establish
Design light–dark comparisons that separate illumination response from temperature, timing, and stored charge without overclaiming the mechanism.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDERule out an unintended battery
Recognize how dissimilar electrodes and reactive chemistry can supply current, and build controls before attributing output to a new mechanism.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDEDistinguish stored charge from sustained generation
Use discharge shape and stored-energy estimates to test whether a transient electrical output is consistent with capacitance rather than replenishment.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDECompare complete storage cycles
Calculate round-trip efficiency with matched initial and final storage states, a clear electrical boundary, and explicit standby and conversion losses.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDESize storage from a load schedule
Translate a load schedule into required usable energy, then account for conversion loss, allowed discharge range, and reserve without double counting.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDEMeasure what disappears during storage
Separate self-discharge from external standby load and voltage relaxation, and compare retained usable energy after a specified storage interval.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDEAsk which wavelengths produce a response
Interpret wavelength-resolved response with calibrated optical input, distinguish equal power from equal photon flux, and avoid lamp-to-sun shortcuts.
Read the guide ↗FIELD GUIDEAttribute electrical output in a living system
Build evidence for a biological contribution to electrical output using matched controls, temporal tests, chemical accounting, and modest causal claims.
Read the guide ↗PUT THE IDEAS TO WORK
Follow the calculation.
Integrate a changing load before sizing an energy supply
A peak power rating does not determine daily energy consumption.
Read the guide ↗WORKED EXAMPLEAn eight-foot tank is an area budget, not a power source
Separate collector area, incident flux, and conversion efficiency.
Read the guide ↗