Friday, August 1, 2008
Pelamis Ocean Wave Energy Generation; Can We Do Better?
There is a new alternative energy company, which has designed a huge ocean wave hydroelectric machine. But it is nothing like any normal hydroelectric generation machine where water goes thru a pipe with a paddle connected to a shaft. The Pelamis is a large three-piece unit with each peace the size of football fields, which are hinged in threes and as the wave travels over system moving the Pelamis components up and down generating energy.
There are four US states considering implementing this system about four or five miles offshore. Another rather large project of the system is being used in Portugal. I propose that we redesign this unit to be even more efficient. I propose that we make the top of each plane with beveled channels which would allow vortex water flows to stream through and thus allowing the planes to move up very quickly in a thrusting fashion. Further I propose these units be built with strakes prior to the water hitting the system or moving along these beveled channels and in doing so we would be creating swirls of water above pulling the system up ward along with some ionic bonding propulsion techniques using charges on a foiled coating.
Additionally I propose the Pelamis system be built with one piece polymer muscle snakes inside, which when they move the system they cause friction creation inside creating energy and also would propel the natural motion of the waves based on their normal length with more energy. Similarly perhaps we need to look at such concepts and take it one step further by creating natural motion ship hull designs, which would assist ships with its power to improve efficiency. Think on all this, as there is always power in the motion of the ocean.
Chemical Energy - Why We Use It More Than Any Other Form of Energy
Of all the forms of energy that humanity has developed in the past few hundred years of mass production, chemical energy is by far the most commonly used. Whether in the batteries that power all of our handheld devices and their chemical reactions or in the millions of uses we’ve developed for fossil fuels and their numerous chemical reactions, chemical energy is a staple of our daily lives. Coal is burned for energy throughout the world, gasoline combusts every day in our vehicles, and natural gasses are burned for heating energy every night.
It’s on a very basic level that chemical energy is stored. A chemical compound is composed of very simple collections of atoms, bound together. When the bond between these atoms loosens, a chemical reaction takes place and new combinations are created. Very simple reactions, such as the oxidation of metals occur almost constantly.
However, when a chemical reaction occurs that is exothermic, in which energy is actually released and the chemical compound is reduced, it is possible to harvest that energy for our everyday use. The very simple processes that we observe every day, such as the warming of the ground when the sun beats down on it, are the same basic concepts that apply to these chemical reactions. For humanity to fully harness this chemical energy though, it’s necessary to understand just what happens and how we can make it happen.
Chemical energy is stored in every bond between atoms in a molecule. If a molecule is broken down and reformed into new molecules, energy is released. This kind of reaction is present in every chemical compound we see; however it is the yield of energy that differs. Food, for example, is chemically broken down by our bodies and taken apart to obtain energy within our bodies. After the energy is removed from the food, the new molecules are separated, energy absorbed for our everyday use, and waste removed.
Another example of a simple chemical reaction used to obtain energy, is in the photosynthetic process a plant undertakes to garner energy from the sun. So much energy is present in the light of the sun that a plant is able to take it and apply to existing molecules in its own structure and create new ones with the presence of carbon dioxide and water.
Chemical energy is the easiest and most efficient energy source to store and utilize, if only because it is so readily available, found in nearly everything we use. Chemical energy, as used by our bodies has been the source of life for billions of years and the developments in chemical energy technology has led to long lasting rechargeable batteries and hopefully in renewable energy resources in the future.
The Future Of Geothermal Energy
The extraction and use of geothermal energy was once associated with projects on an industrial scale, but over the last few years, geothermal energy has begun a significant shift to the commercial and residential markets.
Geothermal power plants were the basis of geothermal technology, harnessing energy from deep within the earth's crust, on a very efficient scale.
Nowadays, geothermal energy is extracted in different ways, and an ever growing popular method of this is through the use of a geothermal heating, or hot water system.
Around the world (especially in countries such as Iceland, Norway, and Sweden), geothermal energy for the home is becoming a very popular method of providing very cheap, environmentally friendly hot water, through the use of geothermal piping systems linked to energy efficient boilers.
The idea of these geothermal boilers, is that they run pipes for hundreds of meters under an area of land (this could be your garden), which are then pumped with cold water from end, and by the time the water has reached the end of the pipes, it is significantly warmer than the start temperature. This enables your geothermal boiler to use less energy when heating this water, as it is already close to the temperature you require.
The savings (just like the idea of installing double glazing), and many new builds are installing this type of renewable energy technology.
The same method of this geothermal energy is increasingly used in homes and businesses through the form of underfloor heating. This heats your home to a certain degree and can help reduce on heating bills.
Not only do you save on your average heating or electricity bill, you know you are doing something for the environment.
The land you sit on contains allot more heat than you may think, so why not consider looking into this natural energy, and see if a geothermal system could work for you.