British scientists have developed a new alternative device for generating electricity, the newspaper The Daily Mail writes. This device looks like a giant snake, but it is possible that in five years it will be used everywhere, and not only in the United Kingdom.

The unusual Anaconda generator (Anaconda) is a huge rubber pipe (more than 180 m long), one end of which is attached by a cable to a float, anchored in turn at the bottom of the ocean, and the second - hangs freely. There is also water inside the pipe.

The "snake" floats at some depth (without disturbing the vessels). The passage of waves over the Anaconda causes the deformation of its shell. Moreover, a thickening wave runs through the pipe in the same direction as the waves on the sea surface go. This wave generates a reciprocating movement of water inside the pipe, which drives the turbines located in the "tail of the snake."

Thus, the design uses a minimum of metal and moving parts, the “snake” is indifferent to salt water, storms and other “vicissitudes of fate”, which can shorten the life of another type of wave power station.

Each anaconda can produce up to one megawatt of electricity ...

The flow of current in conductors is always associated with energy losses, i.e. with the transition of energy from electrical to thermal. This transition is irreversible, the reverse transition is associated only with the completion of work, as thermodynamics speaks of this. There is, however, the possibility of converting thermal energy into electrical energy and using the so-called thermoelectric effect, when two contacts of two conductors are used, one of which is heated and the other is cooled.

In fact, and this fact is surprising, there are a number of conductors in which, under certain conditions, there is no energy loss during the flow of current! In classical physics, this effect is inexplicable.

According to the classical electronic theory, the motion of a charge carrier occurs in an electric field uniformly accelerated until it collides with a structural defect or with a lattice vibration. After a collision, if it is inelastic, like a collision of two plasticine balls, an electron loses energy, transferring it to a lattice of metal atoms. In this case, in principle, there can be no superconductivity.

It turns out that superconductivity appears only when quantum effects are taken into account. It’s hard to imagine it. A slight idea of ​​the mechanism of superconductivity can be obtained from the following considerations ...

Magnetoplan or Maglev (from English magnetic levitation) is a train on a magnetic suspension, driven and controlled by magnetic forces. Such a composition, unlike traditional trains, does not touch the rail surface during movement. Since there is a gap between the train and the surface of movement, friction is eliminated, and the only drag force is the force of aerodynamic drag.

The speed achievable by the Muggle is comparable to the speed of the aircraft and allows you to compete with air traffic at small (for aviation) distances (up to 1000 km). Although the very idea of ​​such a transport is not new, economic and technical limitations did not allow it to unfold fully: for public use, the technology was implemented only a few times. Currently, Maglev can not use the existing transport infrastructure, although there are projects with the location of the elements of the magnetic road between the rails of a conventional railway or under the track.

At the moment, there are 3 main technologies for magnetic suspension of trains:

1. On superconducting magnets (electrodynamic suspension, EDS) ...

One of the main directions of the development of science outlines theoretical and experimental studies in the field of superconducting materials, and one of the main directions of the development of technology is the development of superconducting turbogenerators.

Superconducting electrical equipment will dramatically increase electrical and magnetic loads in the elements of devices and thereby dramatically reduce their size. In a superconducting wire, a current density of 10 ... 50 times the current density in conventional electrical equipment is permissible. Magnetic fields can be brought to values ​​of the order of 10 T, compared with 0.8 ... 1 T in conventional machines. Given that the dimensions of electrical devices are inversely proportional to the product of the permissible current density and magnetic induction, it is clear that the use of superconductors will reduce the size and weight of electrical equipment many times!

According to one of the designers of the cooling system of new types of cryogenic turbogenerators, the scientist I.F. Filippov, there is reason to consider the task of creating economical cryoturbogenerators with superconductors solved. Preliminary calculations and studies give hope that not only the size and weight, but also the efficiency of new machines will be higher than that of the most advanced generators of a traditional design ...

Many would be happy to have a “smart home” - so that everything would turn on and off “according to pike orders”. But not everyone can afford the complete set of this miracle of technology. And not everyone needs it in full. To increase the IQ of their apartment, two or three timers will be enough for someone.

You do not need any specialists to install them - just plug the timer into a power outlet, and any connected electrical appliance with a capacity of up to 3500 kW will begin to work according to a given schedule.

The timer will turn on the kettle on time in the morning so that you can drink coffee immediately after waking up. He will also turn off the TV if the audience falls asleep in front of the screen before the film ends. And having programmed the time of your favorite programs, you will never miss them, carried away by business. The compressor in the aquarium will also turn on and off like a clock - without your participation. And as many times as necessary ...

Everyone knows that no one is safe from the effects of storms, hurricanes, storms and other natural disasters. Therefore, it is worth soberly realizing that the next rainstorm with the same probability can leave without light both a small office and a huge corporation. What to do in the event of a cable break or some kind of malfunction? Call electricians? Or rent a robot that independently does all the work much faster, and possibly better. Say fiction? Of course, who will develop robots-electricians, if there are more interesting applications for these silicon creatures. And you don’t have to go far - robotic singers and bartenders, nannies and teachers, doctors, toys. And here I do not agree.

Scientists have created a robot that, in stand-alone mode, will be able to independently test or diagnose many kilometers of the power cable, identify problems and possibly even determine “preliminary” malfunctions, which, in the future, can cause network problems.

Professor, electronic engineer Alexander Mamishev told the press that such a development is the first in the industry ...

The specifics of the development of modern civilization, especially in the last ten years, cardinally changes our lives.Two trends deserve the most attention.

The first is the rapid development of everything related to computer technology. This is not only a computer in every home and workplace, not only the Internet and “toys”. If you look more closely, then we have all been hostages of computer technology for a long time. Almost any device now has a control chip in its composition, which, in principle, is the same small computer. This is a TV, and a washing machine, and a mobile phone, and a camera, and a keychain to the car, and the car itself ...

Now in my office at work about 60! CPU control ... This is already very serious! If the microprocessor used to cost tens and hundreds of dollars, now you can buy a control chip for less than a dollar!

The second trend is an increase in the cost of energy, and everything related to the mining industry ...

In 1996, engineer Roy Kuennen struggled to solve one problem: how to make Amway Corp. a household water purification filter. didn't break? The filter killed the bacteria with an ultraviolet lamp, but for this it had to be immersed in water. The wires that supplied the lamp with electricity rusted. Then engineer Kuennen had a crazy idea: remove the wires and feed the lamp remotely - using a magnetic coil.
While Kyuennen was tormented with a water filter, the wireless revolution was already in full swing - starting in the 90s, she gave us a cell phone, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but only in recent years began to cover the area of ​​power supply. Several companies are now looking for ways to supply electricity to mobile phones, PDAs, laptops and other gadgets directly, without the need to connect them to the network.

The first such products have already entered the market - for example, the charging "mat" for the Motorola Razr phone, developed by WildCharge. It does not consume much energy, as it comes in direct contact with the phone itself. However, the initial idea of ​​Kyuennen - to charge devices remotely - this does not correspond. 12 years after his experience with a filter for water purification, he is ready to introduce a truly contactless charging technology into everyday life.
Kuennen used the old idea of ​​energy transfer through a magnetic field, voiced by Faraday and Tesla. The current passing through the wire spiral creates an electromagnetic field; under the influence of this field in another spiral located nearby, a current also appears. Fulton Innovation, one of the founders of Kyuennen, may launch a device this year that charges various gadgets with a magnetic coil hidden under a desktop or other surface ...