A simple but ingenious mechanism may give wave power a boost

IN A WORLDACS where new technology is dominated by the movement of electrons and the manipulation of biomolecules, it is good to know that old-fashioned mechanics can sometimes get a look-in, too. Admittedly, electron movement is also involved in the device dreamed up by Wang Zhonglin of the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy. But its true ingenuity lies in a mechanical arrangement that would have delighted an 18th-century watchmaker.Dr Wang, who has just published a description of his device in , is interested in using ocean waves to generate electricity. That is not a new idea, but it has not taken off in the way that wind and solar power have. There are many reasons why. One is the hostile environment. Seawater is chemically corrosive and the very waves which provide the power can become destructive during a storm. A second is that servicing and maintaining a piece of floating engineering is difficult and costly. And a third is that waves are even more variable as sources of energy than wind or sunlight.