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CASH
In my other life I am a Formula One race car driver who solves mysteries on TV
Articles Posted: 107; Links Seeded: 1010
Member Since: 8/2006
Member Since: 8/2006
98 Votes
47 Comments
Scots inventor cracks centuries-old puzzle
News Type: Event — Seeded on Wed Jan 3, 2007 7:33 PM EST
Article Source: thescotsman.scotsman.comadvertisement
IT IS a mechanical problem that has troubled scientists since Archimedes and the ancient Greeks, but now a Scottish electrician has come up with the answer - and it could help consumers save thousands of pounds in energy bills.
Ian Gilmartin, 60, has invented a mini water wheel capable of supplying enough electricity to power a house - for free.
The contraption is designed to be used in small rivers or streams - ideal for potentially thousands of homes across Britain.
It is the first off-the-shelf water-wheel system that can generate a good supply of electricity from as little as an eight-inch water fall.
Mr Gilmartin, an electrician and inventor who was born near Cupar, Fife, was not prompted to think up his new device by high energy bills - he does not own a television and has never lived in a house with electricity.
But he has a stream at the back of his house, and with the help of his friend and PhD engineering student Bob Cattley, 58, he hopes to get the invention into the shops by the end of this year.
Mr Gilmartin began experimenting three years ago with yoghurt pots and wheelie bins in the stream, the Beck Mickle, before test-running a prototype.
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- Public Discussion (47)
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115
14
4.9
{"commentId":457702,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
Because it was invented by a Scot, if a neighbor comes near it will also headbutt him and then kick him when he's on the ground.
BONUS!!
{"commentId":457702,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 24 votes
#1 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 7:34 PM EST{"commentId":457710,"authorDomain":"gwenny"}
This is very cool.
{"commentId":457710,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"gwenny"}
- 5 votes
#2 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 7:41 PM EST{"commentId":457725,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
And yet it is not cool enough for you to even vote for it, so it will remain mired in mediocrity while loyal fans of anything that begins with "Bush sucks because ..." articles will run rampant up the most voted charts.
It's okay, I am used to science suckin' hind tit around these parts.
{"commentId":457725,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 12 votes
#3 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 7:49 PM EST{"commentId":457741,"authorDomain":"ajsnyd"}
It got my vote Cash.
{"commentId":457741,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"ajsnyd"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":457823,"authorDomain":"gwenny"}
And yet it is not cool enough for you to even vote for it,
I voted for it unless something screwed up. Sheesh.
{"commentId":457823,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"gwenny"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":457836,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
AJ, thanks.
Gwenny, I got my eye on you! ha ha. I use Opera and sometimes things don't always work as planned. Sometimes, for example, I comment and vote even if I only want to comment (most of the time I vote - I am not a stingy math type like Hobson, who only votes for women ) ... and sometimes I read stuff in the conversation tracker and it stays unread anyway. The NV guys eventually fix it, or it fixes itself.
I accept that things sometimes work goofy in my browser ... and I was only kidding with you. Mostly.
{"commentId":457836,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 6 votes
{"commentId":457851,"authorDomain":"gregplancich"}
Cash, occasional whackiness is just websites being envious of you using the best browser ever and want to make you feel the pain that everyone else feels.
It's kinda like when people point out to Apple fanboys that Apple has a staggering 4% market share.
{"commentId":457851,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"gregplancich"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":457878,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
Greg, by now I absolutely refuse to visit a site that doesn't work well with Opera, at least in IE mask mode. I can't fathom why more people don't use Opera. All that stuff Firefox ( and IE ) talks about now, Opera has been doing since about 1999.
{"commentId":457878,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":458030,"authorDomain":"gregplancich"}
I'm really surprised that more people don't use Opera, especially considering the fact that they are taking over the world with Opera for Devices (Wii / DS) and their fab Opera Mini (which has prompted me to start work on an article requesting that the NV team make a WAP page for Newsvine).
{"commentId":458030,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"gregplancich"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":458148,"authorDomain":"gwenny"}
Greg, by now I absolutely refuse to visit a site that doesn't work well with Opera, at least in IE mask mode. I can't fathom why more people don't use Opera. All that stuff Firefox ( and IE ) talks about now, Opera has been doing since about 1999.
I use Firefox now, but I did use Opera from many years. (Even gave up dogpile because it wouldn't make it's toolbar work for Opera . . . now I'm a google girl.) I just got really annoyed at one point because Opera didn't work with so many things. So I went back to IE for a short while and played with some of the others. Then Firefox came out.
What still toasts my buns is that so many financial institutions and business still optimize for IE. For instance, the Real Estate multi-listing services all need IE to run. It's a pain in the BUTT.
But since you speak so highly of it, might have to install the newest version of Opera and give it a test run.
{"commentId":458148,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"gwenny"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":458316,"authorDomain":"erink"}
It's okay, I am used to science suckin' hind tit around these parts.
*sigh* politics and strife will always sell better. But you got my vote... this is an awesome seed!
{"commentId":458316,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"erink"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":458562,"authorDomain":"gregplancich"}
Ha, I'm glad that you'll give it another try. I too, sometimes get annoyed at websites with crapptastic code that won't work with Opera. It's not just fanboyism but, Opera is the most standards compliant browser out there (one of only two that passes Acid2).
Plus, it's wicked fast.
{"commentId":458562,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"gregplancich"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":458724,"authorDomain":"JeezyChreezy"}
It's okay, I am used to science suckin' hind tit around these parts.
Hind tit is better than no tit, lad.
{"commentId":458724,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"JeezyChreezy"}
- 7 votes
{"commentId":458904,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
Amen. I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that.
{"commentId":458904,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":459876,"authorDomain":"stolte-sawa"}
Hobson...only votes for women
He doesn't even do that all the time.
{"commentId":459876,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"stolte-sawa"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":457844,"authorDomain":"PamelaDrew"}
This is fantastic. How about a greenvine tag, so the green people can share the news, right along with the sciency sorts.
{"commentId":457844,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"PamelaDrew"}
- 4 votes
#4 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 9:40 PM EST{"commentId":457874,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
Oops, one of the secret tag mullahs beat me to it.
{"commentId":457874,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":458063,"authorDomain":"PamelaDrew"}
I wish a tag mullah would follow me. I wonder if that has any DHS implications, consorting with the mullah? eh??
{"commentId":458063,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"PamelaDrew"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":458072,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
Good point. Let's call them friendly tag elves. No one has a problem with elves.
{"commentId":458072,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":458686,"authorDomain":"dotdot"}
No one has a problem with elves.
I do. I don't trust anyone with pointy ears. This includes vulcans and some breeds of dog.
{"commentId":458686,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"dotdot"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":459000,"authorDomain":"celestina"}
That's just not right. What have you got against Vulcans? Nobody more trustworthy in the universe. You always know what you are dealing with in a Vulcan.
Great seed, Cash. I am really excited by the potential in this, let's hope he gets it rolling out soon!
{"commentId":459000,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"celestina"}
- 6 votes
{"commentId":459141,"authorDomain":"dotdot"}
I fear the Vulcan Nerve Pinch.
{"commentId":459141,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"dotdot"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":459220,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
I don't know her well enough to make the "If you want us to like Vulcans, dress up like Persis Khambatta in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and take a photo" joke.
Wait, was she a Vulcan? After 9 of those movies I can't keep track. I remember bald, Indian girl ... I don't remember if she had pointy ears or not.
{"commentId":459220,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
{"commentId":457898,"authorDomain":"breacadh"}
an electrician who's never lived in a house with electricity invents a gizmo that'll power a house for free -- Goll-ee, how Scottish is that !?
"It's no what we hae, but what we do wi' what we hae, that makes us happy or miserable."
{"commentId":457898,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"breacadh"}
- 5 votes
#5 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 10:37 PM EST{"commentId":457915,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
It makes you wonder why they haven't taken over the world by now ... and then you remember the long history of head-butting each other and kicking them when they're on the ground and it's not that big a surprise.
{"commentId":457915,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 7 votes
{"commentId":458150,"authorDomain":"gwenny"}
It makes you wonder why they haven't taken over the world by now ... and then you remember the long history of head-butting each other and kicking them when they're on the ground and it's not that big a surprise.
Whiskey. And internecine feuds. :)
{"commentId":458150,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"gwenny"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":458736,"authorDomain":"koozebane"}
We're also always too "broke" to undertake those large, costly tasks.
Taking over the world would be too damned expensive.
{"commentId":458736,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"koozebane"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":457987,"authorDomain":"yugnats"}
water rocks! excellent seed, thank you.
dont forget Stan Meyers water powered car either:
{"commentId":457987,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"yugnats"}
- 2 votes
#6 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 11:38 PM EST{"commentId":457989,"authorDomain":"yugnats"}
damn it! i'm not on the vine yet so my links don't show up. better get seedin' i guess ;)
just search Stan Meyers on YouTube anyhow if your interested in his cool car.
{"commentId":457989,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"yugnats"}
- 3 votes
#7 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 11:39 PM EST{"commentId":458011,"authorDomain":"thetalkingmule"}
This guy will be sh0t by the end on June. Book it.
{"commentId":458011,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"thetalkingmule"}
- 2 votes
#8 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 11:56 PM EST{"commentId":458025,"authorDomain":"christopher"}
That's pretty cool - and he lives in Kendal, which is right near where my granny lives, so he gets bonus points for keeping it local! :D
Mmmm... everlasting natural UPS for my computer ;)
{"commentId":458025,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"christopher"}
- 1 vote
#9 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 12:04 AM EST{"commentId":458035,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
Yugnats, welcome to Newsvine!
Harris, if there's one thing Scots hate, it's when another Scot gets good press. Luckily UK folks can't have guns, so I predict his demise by a shovel to the skull ... or a mysterious sheep stampede.
Christopher, the guy said he invented a way to power his house - he doesn't even own a TV. So it may only be enough juice to run a "Hello Kitty" nightlight, or whatever crazy old Scot hermits keep around to stay sane.
{"commentId":458035,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 5 votes
{"commentId":458152,"authorDomain":"Sarcophilus"}
perhaps enough juice to recharge his hairshirt?
{"commentId":458152,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"Sarcophilus"}
- 1 vote
#10 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 2:33 AM EST{"commentId":458452,"authorDomain":"sbny"}
A conventional water wheel allows the water to escape prematurely as the wheel rotates, but the Beck Mickle hydro generator contains the water for the full drop of the device, converting about 70 per cent of the energy into electricity.
Anyone seen pictures of this thing? I was thinking... whats so innovative about a water wheel but there it was right at the end. Sortof one of those common sense, why didn't I think of that, but face it I never would have, type of things. Inventors huh...
{"commentId":458452,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"sbny"}
- 3 votes
#11 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 10:44 AM EST{"commentId":458657,"authorDomain":"susanclaire"}
Wonderful news item. Here is a link to a pic, but it really doesn't really allow you to see details.
{"commentId":458657,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"susanclaire"}
- 2 votes
#12 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 12:42 PM EST{"commentId":458660,"authorDomain":"susanclaire"}
Oh, poo. Here is link manually:
{"commentId":458660,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"susanclaire"}
- 1 vote
#13 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 12:44 PM EST{"commentId":458725,"authorDomain":"defex"}
Since it is the UK they will probably find a way to make it illegal or charge him more than the electricity would cost.
{"commentId":458725,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"defex"}
- 3 votes
#14 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 1:20 PM EST{"commentId":458888,"authorDomain":"mariachi77"}
Great Scot!
Seriously though, great work -- what are the dependencies for this thing? Why aren't people going crazy about it yet?
{"commentId":458888,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"mariachi77"}
- 1 vote
#15 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 2:40 PM EST{"commentId":458900,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
We'll have to see. Whenever I read about something too good to be true ... well, you know the rest.
{"commentId":458900,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":459092,"authorDomain":"dcuben"}
Enough power to cook my haggis... yum!
(Great seed, Cash!)
{"commentId":459092,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"dcuben"}
- 1 vote
#16 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 4:18 PM EST{"commentId":459108,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
DC, I am not sure there is enough power to make a sheep intestine attractive.
( thanks - the head butting jokes are okay? You'd be surprised how sensitive some people are - Scots are pretty good sports )
{"commentId":459108,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":459131,"authorDomain":"dcuben"}
Nae, laddie... me wee rrroommate were Scot, an' I got used ta' tha headbuttin.
Cheers!
{"commentId":459131,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"dcuben"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":459181,"authorDomain":"sphinx"}
When I first read this, I saw "Scots invent crack: centuries-old puzzle," at which point I nodded knowingly to myself, but upon second glance, it's something that's genuinely quite nifty.
Now, to build myself an 8-inch-tall waterfall.
{"commentId":459181,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"sphinx"}
- 3 votes
#17 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 5:10 PM EST{"commentId":459225,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
Wait until it gets optimized more. You know other Scots won't be satisfied with that guy's bragging about his micro hydro machine.
By next week some neighbor of his will be claiming he pissed on a ceiling fan and powered a 747 engine.
{"commentId":459225,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 4 votes
{"commentId":459349,"authorDomain":"dubliner"}
Brilliant!
Was it Futurama (or Simpsons?) that had the episode depicting Ireland in 2000BC, where everyone was going around in flying machines, the pavements were all travelators, and they had solved the problems of long distance space travel. Then a scientist comes in and says: "Look at my new invention. It's called whisky."
They all try a sip, and suddenly start fighting and trashing the place.
{"commentId":459349,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"dubliner"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":459375,"authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
Futurama may be the best science show of all time. It kicks the hell out of that Bill Nye guy in the funny department, I can tell you that.
{"commentId":459375,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"scientificblog"}
- 5 votes
{"commentId":459405,"authorDomain":"htmlfixit"}
Well if it's off the shelf, where do I get one?
Sounds to me like it isn't off the shelf just yet?
I'd like one, so lets have some details.
{"commentId":459405,"threadId":"65378","contentId":"505240","authorDomain":"htmlfixit"}
- 1 vote
#18 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 7:31 PM EST{"canLink":false,"threadId":"65378","isPrivate":false}
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