http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/ Engadget Comments for VIVACE generates big power from small currents http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 8:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 8:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 9:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 9:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 9:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/
Wave energy, Solar energy, geothermal energy and nuclear energy will NEVER be used up for the million years humans can expect to exist barring a sudden catastrophe extinction level event.

SO WHY THE FCK ARE WE USING OIL?]]>Dec 3rd 2008 10:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/
At the moment, our best way of converting chemical energy (in natural gas, oil or coal) into electrical energy (the kind that you get out the socket) is to burn the fuel, and spin a turbine which spins a copper coil (solenoid) around a large magnet. When the magnet moves electrons in the copper, we get electrical current.
At the moment I think the most efficient power station of this sort is in Australia and gets something like 57% efficiency.
http://www.ipplc.com.au/Page.php?iPageID=33

Wave power, solar power, all work on different principles, and none of them are above 30% efficiency.

It's all about money and efficiency, not the environment]]>Dec 4th 2008 12:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/
You're right there, but only to a point. There still isn't any free lunch per-se even by capitalizing on tidal wave energy.

Anyone who has taken even the simplest of college physics courses should be able to even derive the proof that wave action on earth does work on the moon that way. The energy you're going to be drawing will be many orders of magnitude smaller than anything one would have to worry about, but it still isn't a "perpetual energy machine" by any stretch of the imagination; you're still converting the kinetic energy of waves (which arises from the gravitational force of the moon) into electrical energy, and that energy is coming from the gravitational potential energy of the earth-moon system.

Sure, the moon is moving away from the earth right now, but if you do enough work via tidal motion, for long enough, you're going to slow that progression.]]>Dec 4th 2008 12:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 8:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/
Seriously though, pretty cool and it seems like it is one of the more plausible "get water from the ocean" ideas]]>Dec 3rd 2008 9:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/
You are not helping ;)]]>Dec 4th 2008 1:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 9:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 10:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/
1. Ocean acidification through CO2 absorption (fossil fuel burning)
-or-
2. Reducing the tidal highs and lows by some small amount (wave energy capitalization)

Killing everything in the oceans by allowing them to acidify even more is likely much much more damaging (>>) than even reducing the effective coastline of every mainland in the entire world by a half meter.]]>Dec 4th 2008 12:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/
I think for what this will cost, we could retrofit almost all the dams in the US with hydroelectric generation capability, even on the small streams, and generate cheaper, more reliable electricity. No new construction. No navigation hazards. No potential environmental impacts. And, as an added bonus, some of the aging dams would be upgraded in the process.

Better bang for the buck if you ask me.]]>Dec 3rd 2008 9:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 9:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 9:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 9:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Or maybe they're doing this already.


Remember that the next time "the Internet is slow"]]>Dec 3rd 2008 9:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 9:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 9:50PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 10:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 10:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/plus you don't have to be next to an ocean to know how currents work.]]>Dec 3rd 2008 10:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/
And I'm not dissin Michigan, I happen to like my gray skies and cold nights. Right now it is cold outside, and whenever the sun comes "up," I'm sure the skies will be gray.]]>Dec 4th 2008 6:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 10:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 3rd 2008 11:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 4th 2008 1:04AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 4th 2008 2:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 4th 2008 4:22AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 4th 2008 5:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelamis_Wave_Energy_Converter]]>Dec 4th 2008 10:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 4th 2008 1:14PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/03/vivace-generates-big-power-from-small-currents/Dec 4th 2008 4:27PM