Explain this to me...

Ok, so waves are caused by the wind blowing over the surface of the ocean. Wave energy devices get energy directly from the surface motion of the waves. These devices work the best in places where there are constant serface waves, Oregon being an example. The energy from the wind is transfered to the waves.

(Reminder to my self to go back to this site for more info regarding the physics behind all this- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power)

Yay more research!

Ok so I emailed a gradstudent at OSU and he gave me some sites to look at to help explain the physics behind wave energy.

http://ocsenergy.anl.gov/guide/wave/index.cfm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power
http://www.darvill.clara.net/altenerg/wave.htm

YES!

Ok so that very nice woman that I contacted earlier actually responded to my email... VICTORY DANCE! ok... sorry... im done now. OK, so she shared a link with me that shows how to make a wave energy model... But it looks encredibly elaborate and complex. So i'm not 100% sure how this is going to end yet. Hopefully it will end with something that sort of resembles the picture and not me crying and throwing it across a room. Hm we shall see.
http://eecs.engr.oregonstate.edu/wesrf/projects/images/PMLG_Project%20Prototype%20Example.pdf
Above is the link to the model

So...

So...I found someone to contact but I am praying that she is not so important that she wouldnt look at my email. FINGERS CROSSED!
This is the email I sent her..

*Dr. Annette von Jouanne,

Hi, My name is Alayna Lawson and I am a future marine biology marjor and a huge wave energy enthusiast. I am a sophmore at Central Catholic High School in Portland Oregon, but I spend a lot of my time volunteering down at the Oregon Coast Aquarium, and my sister is a biology major at OSU. At school in Honors Physics we are doing a project called a 20% project. It is what google does with its employies. Its pretty much a time where we can do what ever we want as long as we can relate it to physics. While lots of my peers chose things like rockets and baking cookies I chose wave energy. I've been to two talks on the subject and am fascinated by it. However the talks I went to focused more on how they will impact the enviroment, and I would like to learn more about the physics behind it. Sadly though my research on the internet can only get me so far. What I would like to do is create a model of one of your prototypes and have it actually create power.

My reason behind contacting you is to hopefully have you explain the physics behind this to me. I am kind of at a loss so far. Also I wanted to come down and maybe talk to some of the researchers and get to see what they are actually doing. Maybe even get a tour? Also I have no idea where to start on biulding my model, so I was hoping you could give me a nudge in the right direction. Or even if you cant help me if you know someone who could I'd love their contact information.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this! And I hope to hear from you soon.

~Alayna Lawson*

 

I hope she likes me!

Emailing people is a drag!

OK! Sooo... I am trying to find people I should email right now to get this project started.... UGH! Ok so something to keep in mind before starting something big like this is to make sure you can actually find people to contact... But I'm not giving up yet!


http://eecs.engr.oregonstate.edu/wesrf/
research site I thought I'd share with you all :)

Research

Wow! I never knew that it would be so hard to find research on this subject. But considering the fact that off of the Oregon Coast there is only one research facility that is in charge of the project I suppose I should have expected it. OSU is that one research facility. It is facinating to learn about everything that they are doing. Here is some general info...

• Waves are a concentrated form of solar energy
• The technololgy to convert wave energy to electrical energy is in its beginning phase
• Compared to other renewable energys, wave energy has higher energy density, availability (80- 90%) and predictability.
• It is estimated that if 0.2% of the ocean's untapped energy could be harnessed, it could provide power sufficient for the entire world.

More info will be posted shortly! Thanks for reading :)
~Alayna

Getting up and Started!

Yes okay I finally got all this blog set up and I'm pretty stoked. First, you might be wondering exactly what I am doing. My plan is to learn more about the wave energy projects that researches are working setting up off of the Oregon Coast. I hope to talk to researchers face to face and possibly get a tour on where their prototypes are being made. So far I know little on the subject, but by the end of the year I hope to biuld my own model of one of the prototypes. If all goes as planned my model will be able to preoduce enough energy to light a lamp! FINGERS CROSSED! My first step in accomplishing all of this is finding an in at OSU (they are the people heading the wave energy project). Luckily I already have an email and my sister goes to school there. I hope this all works!
Thanks and I'll keep you posted! (pun intended)
~Alayna