Re: So who needs oil or nuclear power?

Weight and design are not the issues here. The issues are practicality
and energy density. There's no doubt that the idea of a swinging
pendulum will generate energy (with some modification) on a swaying
vessel. Putting aside for a moment the fact that large vessels such as
cruise ships and cargo ships are designed not to sway... achem...
these vessels weigh in at more than 80,000 tons and their engines
output anywhere from 50,000 - 200,000 horsepower or more. It doesn't
take a rocket scientist, or even a first grader, to recognize that
you're just not going to be able to extract enough energy out of this
system to compete against a vessel with that much power. I would be
surprised if the system managed to get those 10 foot props turning more
than a couple of rpm. The vessel would move perhaps a couple of knots
per hour. You might as well be riding the winds and tracking the
currents because you're going to get to your destination a whole lot
faster.

Other ideas for alternative power generation at sea extract energy from
the rise and fall of the water against the ship's side. I like this
idea because it works effectively on very large vessels. The amount of
energy produced is still not enough for propulsion. Instead it will be
used to power the electrics on board a cruise ship which would
otherwise normally expend a noticeable percentage of its fuel powering
lights, heaters and other equipment. They propose using floats moving
up and down geared to turn a generator or bladders pressing against the
water's surface to create a reciprocal air pressure inside a tube to
turn a turbine. These ideas are much more promising for hybrid ships
of the future in my humble opinion.

.

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