Energy from Water (Floatation)

I do find the film cuts at transitional sections of this process fishy. It would seem in my mind that there is a lot more time and work going on than the film lets on. I would be more convinced if I saw the process in person, or at least an uncut cycle.

The bottom trap door prevents any water loss upon opening the top door. As for the eventual need for refreshing the amount of water in the cylinder that is simple. You simply have a water drip being supplied from a water tank slightly above the entire facility. The single pump would hardly require much electricity at the few times it is operating.

The fact that you believe anymore water would be loss than the volume of the buoy. No more water will be lost than that. It will not lose that amount every time, rather just the first time. Also, the buoy would allow it to float with a portion of it above the surface.

I read what you said. Why don't you think I understood?

If it's about automated retrieval issue, I'd dare say that's the least of this thing's problems...

What else?

You need to reread what I said.

The trapdoor on the bottom has to be open when the 'pill' enters the tube, and it is at that very point that a volume of water equal to the pill is forced under and out of the tube. Every time you put that pill through the tube, the water level goes down and you have to use energy to fill it (uphill).

Look up "Buoyancy". Wikipedia has a great article on it.

Not if there is a trapdoor on the bottom. That would minimize water loss upon the top being opened. This concept has the most critical step missing in that it provides no solution to automated retrieval once the buoy reaches the top of the cylinder.

The water wouldn't rise to the top, even not completely full, because you have a door closed up top not letting air in (air pocket or not) keeping it at that level, and the pill still displaces what water is there and sends it out the bottom. If the door up top were opened, the water would all spill out.

My goodness... I thought of this same idea when I was a kid but never could have worked out the logistics.

Of course, knowing what I know now, I really am hard pressed to see how this could give "free" engergy. Some displaced water used to float that thing would have to go down, and more energy would have to pump it back up.

Acutally this is a very very shot and abstract version of the Archimedes principle.
Because of gravity the water at the bottom of the pill has a higher density than the one on the top, thus the body will go up, and the water flow under it.
Search for it at wikipedia...

ROFL. You make me laugh. You should learn how flotation works. I think that's the funniest thing I have read in awhile.

Sorry but u don't get how flotation works. It floats up, because water flows UNDER it, not otherwhise. So the PILL does NOT go UP, the WATER goes DOWN. It is impossible to gain constant energy from it.

Actually I did think of that. You don't have to have the cylinder completely full, as soon as the pill enters it displaces the water making the water level rise to the top of the cylinder, then the pill is simply stopped by the lid. No water lost. (other than the water on the surface of the pill) I am interested to see their solution on transferring the buoy ... *ahem* I mean "pill", to the chain. This is an interesting solution, but I think we are both agreed there are many problems with it.

Sorry but you didn't think deep enough. At the moment the pill goes into the tube, it HAS to DISPLACE water, even with one hundret seperated cambers with trapdors the first one would loose that amount of water, and at the moment, when the pill is taken out on top the water level will fall (the exact amount of the pill's volume). So the only chance to gain energy is to lower the heigh of the tube every round, and then you could simply use a turbine using the water power.

Also, as an afterthought. The "pill" does not have to be full of water. I'd imagine it is 1/2 water 1/2 air. This creates maximum buoyancy for the up trip, and weight for the down trip. They would only need 2 or 3 more of these "pills" to have a continuous cycle.