3 ms·

I was actually thinking about an alternative energy source from the sea... it would float on the surface and be like a set of interlinked chains in a fabric wit

I was actually thinking about an alternative energy source from the sea... it would float on the surface and be like a set of interlinked chains in a fabric with dynamos in them that the simple harmonic motion of the ripples of water constantly could be used to create electricity. Let's suppose out at sea each peak to trough is 60cm and the movement up and down causes the internal dynamo to be driven by 30cm for each one - you probably need two lines into each one, positive and negative serially and you could get a pretty good average amount of electricity probably. No idea if it would work or the output would be too uneven but there is a lot of sea and it seems a bit easier to build and repair than something that sits statically in the water.

guerrilla 5y ago
This is already in production in Portugal.
whoomp12342 5y ago
I too have thought about this but more like an ocean/tide use case. basically a bobber/sinker with a generator
Chris2048 5y ago
Guessing it would need some weight to allow it to sink a little, but also be buoyant. Maybe aerated concrete (or even normal concrete) is the answer?: https://www.seasteading.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/The-Case-for-Geopolymer-Concrete-in-Seasteading-Michael-Eliot-3-2015.pdf https://www.seasteading.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/The-C...
SuchAnonMuchWow 5y ago
see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power which include a description of the device you mention, among other ideas to extract the power from sea waves.
leoedin 5y ago
A lot of work has gone into wave power, but broadly it's not got anywhere - there's a lot of complexity in building machines which are robust enough to deal with all sea states and the hostile marine environment, and the amount of energy which can be extracted hasn't made any of the trials so far particularly cost effective.

guerrilla 5y ago

This is already in production in Portugal.

whoomp12342 5y ago

I too have thought about this but more like an ocean/tide use case. basically a bobber/sinker with a generator

Chris2048 5y ago

Guessing it would need some weight to allow it to sink a little, but also be buoyant. Maybe aerated concrete (or even normal concrete) is the answer?: https://www.seasteading.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/The-Case-for-Geopolymer-Concrete-in-Seasteading-Michael-Eliot-3-2015.pdf https://www.seasteading.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/The-C...

SuchAnonMuchWow 5y ago

see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power which include a description of the device you mention, among other ideas to extract the power from sea waves.

leoedin 5y ago

A lot of work has gone into wave power, but broadly it's not got anywhere - there's a lot of complexity in building machines which are robust enough to deal with all sea states and the hostile marine environment, and the amount of energy which can be extracted hasn't made any of the trials so far particularly cost effective.