Vibrational Electrical Generators (VEGS)




VEGS turn wasted vibrational energy into electricity. Every swaying tree, bouncing roadway, turbulent stream, vibrating bridge and seismic shake becomes a source of power.

The VEGS idea was born in 1980, died shortly thereafter (not because it was bad, but because I had lost my will) and has now been reborn (maybe).

Then…

It started with the automotive textbooks that Claud Hunter and I coauthored for Prentice Hall. Several of the books described automotive electrical systems, including alternators and ignition coils.

Alternators convert rotational energy supplied by engines into the continuous electrical current needed to operate vehicles. Ignition coils use collapsing lines of magnetic force to “induce” sudden bursts of high voltage current that cause spark plugs to ignite air and fuel.

Although I don’t remember the details, the idea for VEGS probably had something to do with combining the operation of alternator-type generators and coils - using vibrational energy to generate movement between conductors and lines of force.

In 1980, when the VEGS idea was discovered, I was already a “mature” inventor. I had conceived of airplanes without wings, spaceships without visible means of propulsion, upside down ketchup bottles, and a modular building product, called the Tetra Triangular Building System, which replaced bricks and blocks with triangles. By now, I understood that inventing something is easy, but that developing an idea requires certain knowledge and skills. In those previous pursuits of grandeur, I had ignored such practical considerations. Now, for some reason, I could not.

So, this was my next-to-the-last invention of a physical thing (as opposed to metaphysical, metaphorical and software things - which I still pursue up to this very moment). After creating a Record of Invention and contacting, half-heartedly, a few companies, I buried the small VEGS corpse in a dusty cardboard box beside the remains of the Tetra Triangular Building System.

Note: The last physical invention was a non-obvious variation on VEGS, creating a different sort of VEG which can double as a motor. I’m saving that one, just in case.

Now…

VEGS was resurrected in 2008 in response to Google’s Project 10^100 initiative. Celebrating Google’s 10th anniversary, the initiative is described as…

“A call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible”

Reading the part about the 10M seed money (but not the part that said my reward would be good karma - for the next life I guess) I thought, “What the hell. Maybe I can still get rich and save the world.”

Following are excerpts from my Project 10^100 proposal. After that is the original VEGS Record of Invention.

Excerpts from Project 10^100 Proposal

Description of VEGS…

All generators transform moving energy into electrical energy, converting the motion of stuff (air, water, steam, etc) into relative movement between magnetic fields and conductors. The result is current flow in the conductor.

The difference between conventional systems and Vibrational Electric Generators (VEGS) is the source of the energy. Conventional systems can only use energy from regular, unidirectional motion (flowing water, steam, air).

VEGS capture energy from irregular motion. The energy of every swaying tree, tower or building can be converted directly into electrical power - as can the surge of surf, the undulation of river rapids, the movement of road pavement caused by traffic, the bouncing of cars on those roads, the vibration of strings in wind, the seismic activity of the earth itself.

Whereas conventional generators have stators and rotors, VEGS have stators and vibrators. The vibrator can be the magnetic field-producing element or the conductor. In either case, relative motion is derived directly from energy source. No intervening, energy-wasting mechanism (windmill blade, turbine rotor, impeller wheel) is needed to convert straight- line motion into rotational motion. Minimal alteration of the environment is required. VEGS are inherently clean.

The system can be illustrated by a bell, clapper and rope. When pulled, the rope becomes a vibrational energy source. This energy is transferred to the bell. Viewed as a VEG, the bell becomes the vibrator and the clapper becomes the stator.

Output from VEGS can be directed to a power grid, or to batteries, or other storage devices. Solid state components can be used to modify output as required.

Addressing the Energy Crisis…

VEGS address the three main aspects of the energy crisis — availability, cost, and environmental impact. Depending on how well the technology works and on how widely it is adopted, VEGS could significantly alleviate the energy crisis.

  • Availability. Vibrational energy sources used by VEGS are available in every county and region. The reliance of one country on another for power is minimized.
  • Cost. Vibrational energy sources are free for the taking. The only costs are the VEGS themselves.
  • Environmental Impact. Except for their presence, VEGS do not alter the environment. Well-designed VEGS could harmonize with their surroundings.

Benefiting Developed and Undeveloped Countries…

VEGS would benefit people in developed and undeveloped countries.

In developed countries with established electrical grids, VEGS could be used to feed power back into the system. Everyone with access to sources of vibrational energy (which is virtually everyone) would become producers of electricity. Using free energy sources would reduce cost. Using local energy sources would reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. In emergencies, stand-alone VEGS could supply power independently of the grid.

In undeveloped countries without grids, stand-alone VEGS could reduce the need for a national grid. Tapping local sources of vibrational energy, regions could supply their own minimal (or maximal) power needs. Everyone could have at least some electricity. (Toss pendulum generators in the surf off Tierra Del Fuego and potentially you’ve got lights and computers.)

Record of Invention

Click pictures to enlarge.


Page 1


Page 2


Page 3


Page 4


Page 5

Getting Around Einstein's Limit - Prof Ennui Pidawee



Professor Pidawee says that you can exceed the speed of light - if you are tricky and use your own clock.

Second Black Swan – Bursting the Great Stuff Bubble



Whenever I see a holiday ad (say, for Chia products), or hear about the current economic mess, I think about Nassim Taleb. He is the author of The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. This prompts me to think about our most recent national Black Swan, which prompts me to wonder if a second Black Swan is waddling in the wings.

The recent Black Swan is pretty obvious. Everybody knows we are in a recession. Most experts seem to agree that the crisis was triggered by the bursting of the subprime mortgage bubble. This fits Taleb’s description of a Black Swan. It is an event of great impact, unforeseen beforehand, but appearing afterward as obvious and inevitable.

The second Black Swan that I wonder about is the bursting of the Great Stuff Bubble. Unlike the bursting of previous bubbles (the Tulip Bubble in 1630, the South Sea Bubble in 1711, the Stock Market Bubble in 1929, the Dot Com Bubble in 1999, etc.), which involved particular kinds of stuff, the Great Stuff Bubble would affect all stuff. Black Swan poop would cover everything.

(I also wonder if the Great Depression resulted from a pair of Black Swans, the first being the Stock Market Bubble burst, the second being a Great Stuff Bubble burst, not recognized at first, but monumental and devastating in its impact.)

Although Taleb says you usually can’t predict Black Swans (or extrapolate from history), consider this hypothetical chain of events:

Suppose…

Because of the recession, the country buys half as many Chia pets, ties, gloves, scarves, socks, sweaters, George Foreman grills, big screen TVs, etc as it did in previous holiday seasons. After the holidays, some people discover they don’t miss this stuff. Some people say, “Well, who needs all that stuff anyway?”

The drop in stuff-related sales further weakens the economy. There are more layoffs. People, who can buy even less stuff, begin to rethink the difference between necessary and unnecessary stuff. Although many people still cling to their stuff, many others, especially those who discovered they really didn’t need Chia pets and big flat screen TVs decide that stuff isn’t everything.

Society changes. Forced by circumstances, thrift becomes a virtue, at least among a big segment of the population (old hippies, real Christian conservatives, Unitarians, all libertarians). People hang on to old cars, old clothes, old appliances. Big houses are regarded by some as obscene. Lavish displays of wealth seem tacky. Donald Trump is sillier than before and Ralph Nader is sort of chic. Excess is out; moderation is in.

In this hypothetical scenario, we enter a new age of stuff awareness. Of course, this is when the second Black Swan becomes obvious, when the Great Stuff Bubble bursts. That is because all of the world’s industrial economies are based on the movement of stuff. Necessary stuff, unnecessary stuff – it doesn’t make any difference to the economic system.

However, the difference between necessary and unnecessary stuff is important to struggling consumers. A combination of ethical and practical considerations compels most people to cut back on what they perceive as unnecessary stuff. This varies between consumers, but the results are the same to the economy. Companies that make unnecessary stuff, whatever it is, go out of business or scale back.

At this point the story is almost over. The Black Swan, having pooped, moves on. The economy spirals downward, trying to find a new floor based on new distinctions between necessary and unnecessary stuff. We enter a second Great Depression.

What happens after this depends on the next flock of Black Swans, circling even now, invisible yet ominous. One could expect social unrest, perhaps wars. Perhaps a war brings us out of this Great Depression, like WWII brought us out of the first Great Depression, curing us of our consumer malaise, and reinvigorating our taste (and capacity) for stuff.

Sloshing Toward Main Street


This is prompted by recent events (Oct 08) and by the term "slosh" used by David Brooks, Fareed Zakaria and others to describe the movement of capital around the globe. Quoting Brooks...

"We’re living in an age when a vast excess of capital sloshes around the world fueling cycles of bubble and bust. When the capital floods into a sector or economy, it washes away sober business practices, and habits of discipline and self-denial. Then the money managers panic and it sloshes out, punishing the just and unjust alike."

(with apologizes to WB Yeats and Alan Greenspan)

Turning and turning in a dance gone awry;

The politico cannot hear the politician;

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;

Mere money is loosed upon the world;

Red-dimmed ink floods the marketplace, and everywhere;

The ceremony of civility is drowned;

The best know nothing while the worst;

Know everything;

Surely The Big D is at hand.

The Big D! Hardly are those words out;

When a vast newsreel image;

Troubles my sight; somewhere in the Great Heartland;

A shape with a bull’s body and the head of man;

A gaze blank and pitiless as Alan Greenspan;

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it;

Swarm angry eagles.

My vision fades but now I know;

That eight decades of stony sleep;

Have been vexed awake by the sound of anxious capital;

Sloshing toward Main Street;

Waiting to be born.