Yes this author shown here in the quote is also an idiot. I mean, jeez, it takes a lot of energy to effectively convert a can of gasoline (chemical) into another form of energy. Like running an engine, I mean it takes so much energy to run the fuel pump you know.

Stored chemical energy is a good source of energy but it does not always take a lot of energy to get it. It depends on the chemical entirely.

generators use electromagnetic fields (changing magnetic field sets up an electric field inside a conductor) to cause charge migration/flow = current (dq/dt, change in current per time).

the author is an idiot who does not seem to understand electrostatics… maybe its been a long time since that physics course where you learned F=qVxB?

a static field is built between the water in the bottom bucket and the can in the top. just like a capacitor.

a capacitor is JUST LIKE a battery, but only depends on the energy stored in an electric field, not redox potential (true battery)

caps are used all the time in electronics to ensure that some device has enough current for all demand (example being high powered speakers, that may need a super burst of current when there is an especially loud note in the music)

how do you use energy from this concept? hmm.. lets think… YOU CONNECT A WIRE BETWEEN THE BOTTOM BUCKET AND THE TOP BOTTOMLESS CAN.

as charge gets transferred to the top bucket (author claims positive charge) and charge on the bottom, CHARGE CARRIERS FLOW THROUGH THE WIRE.

connect a device to the wire, and you will get a current.

why is this useless? because you would need to literally dump an entire lake through a contraption of this sort to get anything even remotely close to usable power.

static depends on vanishingly small amounts of excess charge carriers being RIPPED away (like elcectrons or protons). a typical circuit sees MOLES of electrons moving through it in seconds. static-electricity type experiments for a typical laboratory scale demonstration result in the production of less than 10^5 excess electrons. that is 10^17 less than a typical circuit requires.

think of that scaling and you will understand why this is not useful for electricity production.

when someone can figure out a way to harness the energy stored in carbohydrates ELECTROCHEMICALLY it will save the world. there is literally as much energy in a loaf of bread as a small nuclear explosion… if it was possible to completely convert every single molecule in the bread into water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen (gas), etc… then you could get a fantastical amount of energy from it.

as such, converting chemical energy into thermal or electrical energy is EXTREMELY innefficient. even inside the body. like .01% efficient or less.

it takes a lot of energy to effectively convert stored chemical energy into other forms of energy.