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Teen wins Seimens $100K Prize for Generator

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by cybele, Dec 9, 2004.

  1. cybele

    cybele New Member

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    Aaron Goldin of Encinitas, CA, Wins $100,000 Individual Prize;
    (Lucie) Yueqi Guo and Xianlin Li of Durham, NC, Win $100,000 Team Prize

    An invention that converts ocean wave energy into electricity and genetics research on breast cancer won top honors tonight for Aaron Goldin, (Lucie) Yueqi Guo and Xianlin Li in the 2004-05 Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology, the nation’s premiere high school science competition.

    The invention: “Aaron Goldin created the Gyro-Gen concept for extracting power from ocean waves by combining his love of gyroscopes and oceanography,†said judge Dr. Richard Miles, Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University. “He has taken an innovative application of gyroscopic principles and turned it into a reality, demonstrating great independence and originality. With further development, his concept may be scalable to large off-shore power generation as a replacement for fossil fuel power plants.â€

    read more here at PhysOrg.com news

    I'd like to think that with diversification we could have scalable projects like those that harvest the energy from waves, wind, the sun as well as geothermal and hydroelectric to create more stable power supplies.

    It's interesting to consider that maybe existing offshore oil platforms might someday be retrofitted in this way.
     
    #1 cybele, Dec 9, 2004
  2. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    One would have to take into consideration the interuption on water patterns created by such large-scale platforms. Often times, things are put into place before their wholestic impacts have been thoroughly investigated.
     
    #2 TonyPSchaefer, Dec 11, 2004
  3. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    hmmm maybe.... but one that was in deep water would have less of an impact. facts is, the ocean is pretty big.

    having one close to shore though, i dont think is wise. but how much disruption of flow would this cause??

    disrupting the flow would stop the generation of electricity so i see this a minimal thing... definitely better than the coastal erosion caused by ocean going freighters
     
    #3 DaveinOlyWA, Dec 11, 2004
  4. Jerry P

    Jerry P Member

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    I heard an interview with this young man on NPR. What a great idea. As with all things, there has to be the right place for it, but I immediately thought about Hawaii. My wife and I attended our daughter's wedding there in November, on the island of Kauai - truly the Garden of Eden. The power for the island is generated in the town of Port Allen, and appeared to be coal-fired. A 'Hybrid' set-up might be just the thing, using waves to generate as much electricity as possible and using the coal plant as an assist.

    In the realm of alternative energy, it will be very important to fit the technology to the location. There will be no 'one size fits all', but as each area develops what works best for them, it will help relieve the pressures in other areas so that all will benefit.

    Also, we owe a resounding round of applause for Aaron Goldin. It is the young people like him who will lead us to a better future. I hope he continues to forge ahead with his ideas. :clap:
     
    #4 Jerry P, Dec 11, 2004
  5. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Someone's going to have to refresh my hydrodynamic knowledge, but I thought that waves only occurred along the 'top' of water. The underlying water has currents, but not 'waves' as in pulses.

    Although I suppose the currents would open the possibility of hydroelectric power similar to windmills on land. But I'm sure the construction of such generators would be extremely difficult and the net power generated would probably not match that coming from dams and rivers.
     
    #5 TonyPSchaefer, Dec 12, 2004
  6. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    sure waves are on top ok... but i think the machine works on just water movement in general.

    now as far what output can be expected, well that all depends on how well its implemented. the potential is huge.
     
    #6 DaveinOlyWA, Dec 13, 2004
  7. flareak

    flareak Fleet Captain

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    :) convert the moon's gravitational energy into energy for us! why didn't i think of that..?
     
    #7 flareak, Dec 13, 2004
  8. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    actually we all thought of that... unfortunately, the energy is all in one direction and its not a direction you want to go very far with
     
    #8 DaveinOlyWA, Dec 13, 2004
  9. cybele

    cybele New Member

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    Yes, I think I've read stuff about how windfarms can also change wind patterns for large areas downwind and that will probably have some sort of environmental impact.

    There was also a study done back in the early eighties that mentioned Iceland's geothermal energy programs on volcanic activity - but that was pre-internet and I can't remember where I might have read it (or maybe it was a geology class).

    I guess the hope is that the effects are negligible - though I doubt that anything on a large scale could ever be.

    My dream is that we can diversify enough so that they are only small blips instead of the huge impacts that things like coal and oil have on the planet. Also, diversification of energy sources means less dependence on any one in particular - so you have really crappy weather and the wind & wave farms do well. Then you have calm hot weather and suddenly the solar energy generation shoots through the roof.
     
    #9 cybele, Dec 13, 2004
  10. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    hmm im familiar with a couple of windfarm projects and there is no evidence that they affect the wind patterns at all.

    there have been studies that show that windfarms only have the potential to capture less than .01% of the available energy making their overall effect on the wind neglible.

    even high efficiency systems (the big slow turning ones) cant even begin to capture a noticable percentage of the immense power available.

    in a perfect world, we could design systems that would be light enough to take advantage of the slightest breeze (like a personal fan) flexible enough to work with the wind in any direction (like a weathervane) and strong enough to capture enough energy to turn multiple turbines (like a sailboat)

    but currently there are drawbacks to all those things. although wind turbine tech is improving. it is eons away from being good enough to affect wind patterns

    i can say that the wind speed downwind from a wind farm will not be any slower than the upwind side of the farm
     
    #10 DaveinOlyWA, Dec 13, 2004
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