New Ocean Energy Invention by A High School Student

A high school senior has created an ocean wave energy device that will vie for the $100,000 prize in this year's Siemens-Westinghouse competition against five other finalists. The story comes from this article,
Award-winning invention turns swells into electricity , Sherry Parmet, Union Tribune, (11/25/04).

The article explains:

To build his device, Aaron adapted a retired computer printer part for the generator. The motor was from an old answering machine. The gyroscope was from a flywheel from an older-style reel-to-reel tape deck. His project was evaluated by a team of scientists and faculty at the University of California Berkeley. Lead judge Roger Falcone, a UC Berkeley physics professor, said Aaron's use of a gyroscope was creative, original and impressive because of its simplicity. "For many years, people have known that wave energy is very powerful, but his solution using a gyroscope is novel," he said. "We actually looked on the Web and at the patent office, and we couldn't find any work done on this." Aaron said he believed the gyroscope might generate electrical power from waves because it would automatically push back against them, enabling it to absorb wave energy. Aaron said his device is a free-floating system that is environmentally benign.

Perhaps a win by Goldin will reinvigorate interest - and investment - in ocean energy in the United States.