30 Fairmont Park Lane S
Lethbridge, AB
T1K 7H7
Phone: (403) 328-1804
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
The Editor
The Lethbridge Herald
P.O. Box 670
Lethbridge
AB, T1J 3Z7
Dear Editor:
Today the Herald published a short sober story (“Electrical innovators stunned by response” 03/10/21, A2) on a new way to generate electricity.
Just yesterday, University of Alberta engineering professors and students published an article in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering. The article is available to all. It reports on analysis and tests of a technique to extract small amounts of electricity from flowing water. The authors note it may be possible to develop a new type of “battery” based on this science.
Today, the concept has been elevated to the level of science fiction and perpetual motion - or maybe a badly timed April fool’s joke - in the media. One editorial (The Standard of St. Catharines - Niagara) states; “We can only wonder at what this astonishing new development will mean to mankind. Their discovery -- announced Monday by the London-based Institute of Physics -- means a clean source of renewable energy involving no moving parts. In theory, a closed system using pure water could be used to make electricity indefinitely.” A story aired by CTV news and posted on their website is nearly as effusive.
The professors should be stunned by this tremendously exaggerated and ludicrous response to their scientific work. I hope they are given an opportunity to bring this discovery back to reality. Optimism has its place, but this has become ridiculous and potentially damaging to the reputation of the University of Alberta, my alma mater.
Yours truly,
Duane Pendergast
cc.
Professor Larry Kostiuk ( University of Alberta)
Assistant Professor Daniel Kwok (University of Alberta)