A senior high-school student in Keelung has developed a way to harness the energy produced by fish as they swim.
Chen Huai-pu (陳懷璞), who has grown up spending lots of time around the ocean, said the idea came to him as he was snorkeling one day.
Noticing how quickly fish move, he wondered if the energy their movements produced could be captured and stored, he said.
Photo courtesy of Anle Senior High School
Under the guidance of one of his teachers at Anle Senior High School, Chen developed a small device that can be attached to a fish’s body to generate electricity.
Chen said that he used a 3D printer to produce a Venturi tube — a tube with a constricted section that decreases the pressure of fluids flowing through it at the same time the velocity of the fluid is increased — which allowed him to measure the speed of water flow, and thus determine the amount of potential energy that would be produced by the flow.
A series of experiments confirmed his hypothesis that electricity could be produced by the movement of fish, he said.
The potential 20-year lifespan of his device would be far better than the average lifespan of conventional batteries, he said.
His invention won first place at a recent science and engineering competition in Taiwan, and in May, he is scheduled present it at a technology symposium in the US.
Chen, who has been working with his teachers to improve his English ahead of his trip to the US, said he is very interested in interdisciplinary studies and combining ideas from different fields.
Marine scientist Chiang Wei-chuan (江偉全) said Chen’s device could potentially slash the cost of seafloor research surveys.
At present, conducting such surveys has to be done by ship-based researchers, and the costs of such projects can easily top NT$10 million (US$324,359), he said.
However, Chen’s fish-mounted micro generators could be used in an application that would allow a survey of the seafloor through the movement of fish, which would drastically reduce such costs, the scientst said.
Once mass-produced, the per unit cost of Chen’s device could be as little as NT$5,000, Chiang said.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
RSS