A simple but ingenious mechanism may give wave power a boost
It is inspired by a party trick and clockwork
IN A WORLD 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.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Like clockwork”
Science & technology October 23rd 2021
From the October 23rd 2021 edition
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