Generating electricity from electric charge?

[iamandanyc]

If I have a really big charged object, is it possible to direct the charges to an object/the same place and generate current/electricity from it? It was just something I thought of, totally random, but I'd like to know the reasoning behind it C:

 

[JaredJames]

If I have a really big charged object, is it possible to direct the charges to an object

Yes

the same place

The same place? How do you direct something to where it already is?

and generate current/electricity from it?

If it's charged, the energy is already in the form of electricity.

What I feel you're asking is can we direct it somewhere and store it for later use. And then by extension I can see you leading on to something along the lines of "can we 'direct' lightning and use it as a source of electricity?".

At the moment, no. We can force lightning where we want it to land by sending a rocket into a storm cloud with a wire attached, but we can't store the energy from the lightning bolt.

 

[iamandanyc]

I know trying to harness electricity from lightning would only result in the equipment being roasted, but is there were a way to slowly collect the electrons from clouds and generate electricity? And how would that be done?

 

[JaredJames]

I know trying to harness electricity from lightning would only result in the equipment being roasted, but is there were a way to slowly collect the electrons from clouds and generate electricity? And how would that be done?

Bingo, knew exactly where you were going.

As per my above post, at this point in time we simply can't do it. It isn't as simple as building towers into storm clouds.

Lightning storms, although common in some places, don't last long enough for us to continuously source from so we'd have to store the energy somehow. That is where the downfall lies.

 

[QuantumPion]

My idea, posted in another thread, was to use blimps :)

 

[Curl]

or use coal because it is much cheaper and much more reliable