ICM - Leeds Design Agency

Here in solar energy poor Northern Canada we get very large temperature variations daily, and seasonally This may be an answer to come, as science and technologies advance! I am absolutely certain many good ideas have been suppressed, by oil companies and by tax hungry governments. The oil shortage driven (GRD) great republican depression may help to get the truth out and reverse an almost impossible situation for American survival, about to fall on that society hard! OPEC and the Saudis meet as we speak to "FIX" the price of oil at $75.00 U.S. bbl. for now! Like any blackmailer we can rest assured they will be back for more, and soon!

Posted by Uncle B on Monday 9th of February 2009 at 12:35pm

You're probably correct, the Bush family has much to lose in the oil industry. Maybe a solution is more people taking responsibility for their own energy and adopting these alternative technologies.

Check out http://www.changeiscoming.org.uk as an organisation that is working to encourage people to address energy problems themselves.

Posted by Tasha on Monday 9th of February 2009 at 4:11pm

That is a BRILLIANT idea, why did nobody ever think of that before? That could easily generate power for a city, given a bit of thought.

Tasha, if this (or any other new power producing device) works, then it won't matter one bit what bush and his cronies think. The better technology will rise to the top.

Posted by happysmoker on Sunday 14th of June 2009 at 1:13am

Oh dear gawd, puleese. If people would put a fraction of the thought they invest in conspiracy theories towards basic physics, you would know why oil, coal, and gas are by far the most efficient modes of energy known to man. I'm all for alternatives, but it seems an intelligent conversation is just not going to ever happen.

Posted by Alice on Thursday 2nd of July 2009 at 7:14am

Efficiencies are determined to a large extent by economies of scale. New technologies will necessarily lag behind existing ones in terms of efficiency until they reach the tipping point through take up – but that doesn't mean we shouldn't investigate (and indeed invest in) them.

Posted by Siân on Friday 3rd of July 2009 at 9:35am

The only problems with alternate energies it that even though they are relatively infinitely renewable, they are not sustainable at any particular level. I will use wind as an example, the the same holds true for any other power source. While wind energy is renewable, it fluctuates in power - this means that a legacy power source must be kept in reserve to make up for any lapses in the energy production of that wind. Secondly, because power plants cannot make huge swings in power supplied in a short time, they must be running at a capable capacity at all times. Therefore, even if people are using the wind energy, legacy energy is still being created, and wired/sold elsewhere. The place this can be used in in the home. For example, if you have a windmill at your house you can draw that power when the wind is blowing, but if it goes still you still have a power company cable coming into your house. You personally are able to make savings on your electric bill, since you aren't buying as much from the power company. The issue there of course is that once enough people are doing that the power company starts losing profits and ends up raising prices on the power that it sells to people without windmills.

We will only be off of legacy power sources when they run out completely (and we will drill in ANWR, 500 ft off of the coast of Florida, and through a gnat-catchers head to get every drop before this happens) or if there exists a battery network capable of powering the entire earth for at least one day - and there exists enough renewable energy sources connected to that battery network to keep it at 90-100% charge at all times.

I do not think that this is impossible, but the technology has a long way to go to be that productive for an appropriate cost.

Posted by Russell on Tuesday 14th of July 2009 at 6:42pm

Is this not a similar principle to a Stirling engine?

Posted by bah on Tuesday 4th of August 2009 at 1:04pm

What everyone is missing is the opposite side of the power generation equation...power use. The reason this ingenious power source works is because a watch uses very very very little power. We have steadily increased power efficiency in our appliances and vehicles over the last 30 years. The more efficient we make everything the more realistic alternative energies become.

Side note: Yes, our vehicles are more efficient. No the MPG hasn't increased much, if any, but that is because our vehicles weigh more now (much of the increase is due to all the safety equipment).

1980 Civic 35-45 MPG at roughly 2050lbs
2009 Civic 29-36 MPG at roughly 2650lbs

Nano-materials could significantly lighten these vehicles in the next 10 years, which would drastically increase MPG.

There is no one answer to the energy problem. My answer is to invest in commodities and power companies (some states are deregulating the power companies, which means increased pricing power). If I owned a house I would be investing in solar cells.

Posted by Chad @ Sentient Money on Sunday 25th of October 2009 at 1:38am

Thanks for reading the blog Chad. You're right, there is no one answer, the watch was merely a glimpse at one of many ideas that in time (pardon the pun) could be scaled-up as an efficient method of power generation. I agree totally that we need to look at our power consumption alongside the search for new methods of generation.

Posted by Richard on Monday 26th of October 2009 at 11:34am

Great idea!
The concept will emerge in another decade or so.
But you read it first here!

Posted by MarkmBha on Friday 27th of April 2012 at 6:16pm