| It took five years of study, but in the end and in spite of widespread scepticism, his dream came true: that of harnessing the waves of the sea to produce clean electrical energy. The Israeli inventor, Samuel Ovadia, experimented his prototype in the port of Jaffa in Israel.
The working principle of Ovadia's invention is extremely simple: it exploits the force of the waves breaking against a wall to which a series of mechanical devices have been attached; when the waves strike these they move pistons, which are in turn attached to a nearby electric generator which provides electrical energy for the surrounding houses. | | | The system for producing electrical energy from sea waves (left) invented by Dr. Samuel Ovadia (right) | This prototype, of small dimensions, at present supplies about 40 kilowatts per day, a quantity of energy sufficient for the requirements of about forty dwellings. But the inventor's project is much more far-reaching and far-sighted: he believes that within 20 years such systems could cover 15% of the world energy requirement.
In the meantime his company, dealing in systems for energy production and water desalination, is striding ahead, and has already signed a contract with an Indian company for the daily production of 4 megawatts of energy to provide a clean electricity supply for 40,000 dwellings. We can only hope that the giants which have control of the planet's energy resources will give him the chance to use his ingenious machines to provide low-cost clean energy. |
