Teenage Girl Invents Flashlight Powered By Body Heat: Incredible Torch Needs Only Warmth Of Hand To Turn On, 15-Year-Old Will Go To Google Science Fair [VIDEO]

A teenage girl invented an incredible flashlight powered by the heat of a hand. The torch, dubbed the Hollow Flashlight, only needs the warmth of a hand to turn it on. It won her a place as one of the 15 Google Science Fair finalists from around the world.

Ann Makosinski, a fifteen-year-old Canadian teenager, invented the heat-powered flashlight after a burst of inspirational light. She was trying to think of a way to harvest untapped energy when realized that the warmth of the human body was an often overlooked source of energy.

Makosinski had a project goal of creating a flashlight that runs on human body heat. She accomplished her goal by using Peltier tiles. The tiles make energy when one side is heated and one side is cooled.

If the flashlight is hollow, Makosinski realized, the tiles could be used to power her body-heat-powered LED flashlight.

Makosinski , a high school junior in Victoria, British Columbia, used the Peltier tiles to produce two working prototypes-after several frustrating dead ends. One is made of aluminum pipe and one is made of PVC pipe.

The LED flashlight works better in colder temperatures, as the hollow inside is better able to cool down compared to body heat from the outside. The amterials used to make the flashlight cost $26.

The fifteen-year-old will now go to the Google Science Fair. If she wins, she'll get a $50,000 scholarship.

Ann Makosinski's project conclusion said she "made two flashlights that do not use any batteries, toxic chemicals, or kinetic energy. They do not create any noise or vibrations and will always work. The flashlight's only limitation is its need for at least a 5°C temperature difference to provide usable light."

See a video of the incredible invention below: