Energy

Humans eat for energy.

there is chemical potential energy in food, which goes into our body which then gets converted into stored electrical energy in all living cells that will be used for kinetic energy to make our muscles move; heart beat, lungs breath etc etc. But also will get converted into heat and even a little bit of sound energy.

every energy gets lost to heat eventually since the increased movement of particles is what creates heat, which is why shivering is a natural reflex to cold. (x)

My question is, what if you didn’t need to source energy from food/chemical potential?

The idea is that the aliens can source energy from outside kinetic forces, convert the kinetic energy into stored electrical energy and then use that electrical energy to move their muscles (which creates more kinetic energy) but will also create heat and a little bit of sound.

I imagine that they’d collect this energy through their skin, maybe with many tiny muscles that absorb vibrations and turn that kinetic energy into electrical potential energy in their cells.

That means, to gain energy, they have to be in constant motion through dirt or through the air, being in the wind could be a rich source of energy and being touched by others could be too.

it means that being petted could be as indulgent to them as it is for us to eat a big meal.

 

Skin

Materials that absorb heat without becoming hot

sensible heat materials –
according to Adam Paxson, a PhD candidate in MIT’s Mechanical Engineering department, there are phase change materials (PCMs), latent heat storage materials that absorb and release heat without rising in temperature themselves.

http://engineering.mit.edu/ask/are-there-materials-can-absorb-heat-without-becoming-hot

 

– Claire Huang