subject: Water Powers The Power! [print this page] With the world looking for all sorts of alternative ways to harness energy, science is trying everything it can to combat rising energy cost and the usage or non-reusable sources. However one tried and true source of energy is all around us. It is the use of the energy created by moving or falling water to power generators. This technology has been a concept that has been used by many, ranging from farmers to big government. One of the earliest contraptions to be used to harvest the energy of moving water is a watermill and currently the most common way is being done by national dams.
However new studies in technology have led to the creation new ways to gather energy from water. For the most part water powered energy has come from using rivers and lakes, however that concept is about to change.
One new form of gathering energy from water is that of wing waves. What the contraptions do is a relatively simple concept that will hopefully lead to big changes in energy production. Rather than using rivers or lakes scientists are looking to the sea to gather energy from the waves, tides and currents. What the wing waves do, is they are comprise of wing-like flaps the are composed of a solid composite of materials that are able to withstand corrosion. They are placed on the coast in 40-60 feet deep waters on sandy sea beds. From there as the oceans current flows over them they flap back and forth in an arcing motion. Thus in that back and forth motion creating a transferable energy into generators that could power 200,000 house or so. These new creations are just now being installed into a few coastlines to see how beneficial they can be. They are of no risk to sea life either and when there are hurricane force waves the wings lock down.
Another new science being introduced in the world of renewable energy is that of harnessing slow currents for energy. While turbines and dam require that the flow of water is relatively high to function effectively. A new creation from a group at University of Michigan has created a device that run nearly the opposite and on a much smaller scale. The device is called VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibrations for Aquatic Clean Energy) basically it functions on the slow currents and vibrations in the water. Without getting to technical, there are a series of rods place on the floor of the ocean or river that when bummed by the currents and vibrations of water they create mini vortexes and thus more vibrations which then using the vibrations transfer that energy into generators. It has been said that if 0.1 percent of the energy in the ocean could be harnessed it could provide power for 15 billion people.
So weather you using a stream nearby to power your own personal generator or getting it from the ocean, there seems to be endless possibilities for alternative energy via that old element, water.
