Interview with Rick Dickson, Inventor on his Air Water Gravity Generator Concept - 3/10/08

1: Please give us a little background on yourself and how you came up with your idea.
Answer: I am a 57 year old accountant, but have had a lifelong interest in science, and started out in college as a Pre-Med student. I ended up getting a minor in General Science. I have been inventing for years in my spare time, and have several other renewable energy inventions, including a human kinetic energy generator, and a piezoelectric device, I refer to as a "Wind Tree". Both are discussed on the PES WIKI website. Regarding the hydrosphere and follow-on AWG/OPEC (Ocean Pressure Electric Conversion) concepts, I came up with the ideas back in 2001 after reading an account of Dr. William Beebe's 1930s descents into the depths of the ocean in his bathysphere. During a test dive, an unoccupied bathysphere was lowered to about 1,500 feet. When it was retrieved and taken aboard ship, Beebe noticed it was filled with water still pressurized at depth. He also noticed a crack that developed in the porthole of the bathysphere. Abruptly, the porthole collapsed, and an enormous column of water almost rigid like a pole shot out burying steel bolts into the ship's bulkhead and actually bending the iron bulkhead significantly. Beebe reported the force was such a man would have been cut in half by the water blast. It was then that I realized the tremendous force of water under pressure in deep bodies of water had never been harnessed for a useful purpose, such as electrical power generation. That led me to the development of the original hydrosphere, which utilized water under pressure to enter a hollow sphere filled with air at 1 ATM pressure to lift a linear generator piston, while also passing over a conventional hydroelectric generator before the water entered the sphere. The problem was that the concept then relied on a high speed Tesla pump and re-pressurizer to evacuate re-pressurized water from the sphere. This used up most of the power produced. The AWG (Air Water Gravity Generator) was an improvement on the concept. It obviated the need for a pump and repressurization by using the air compressed by the force of the incoming water under pressure to evacuate the water through a snorkel pipe connected to the surface of the lake or ocean without repressurizing the water. The process of using ocean (or lake hydrostatic pressure) for electrical conversion, I have designated as OPEC (Ocean Pressure Electrical Conversion).

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2: What is an AWG generator by definition? Answer: It is basically a linear piston generator, which operates off air and water pressure differentials, assisted by gravity; hence, the term Air-Water-Gravity Generator or AWG. It operates in a manner similar to a piston engine in an automobile, minus the crankshaft, cam; and, in lieu of combustion, the piston rotor is driven up the stator column by water pressure and then back down by compressed air, rather than by the force of exploding gasoline. The AWG could also be an excellent desalinator by inserting an osmotic membrane in the snorkel pipe, the exiting salt water under pressure could be converted to fresh water and then rather than exit the snorkel pipe as a geyser, could be stored in tanks in a floating platform for subsequent piping ashore. The pumps for piping the water could be powered by the electricity produced by the AWG. This would be of particular value to desert regions,  near oceans, such as the MidEast, parts of Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa, Southern California, Mexico, and Australia.

3: How much electricity do you think each AWG generator could produce?
Answer: It depends upon a number of factors, including depth of the water where the AWG is resident, size of the AWG cylinder and its internal piston linear generator, and diameter of the snorkel pipe to the surface (which determines how fast the water can be evacuated from the AWG on the down stroke, and; thus regulates the speed of the piston rotor). So output can vary widely; but my calculations show that a 20' diameter cylinder with a length of 80' could generate close to half a gigawatt (1GW) of continuous power at 100 meters.

4: How much energy does it take to operate?
Answer: This is tricky, as the energy is from the differential between the prevailing hydrostatic pressure at depth and the internal air pressure of the AWG cylinder. It perhaps makes more sense to think of what depth is an effective operating depth for the device, or in other words where optimum efficiency is obtained. My calcs show 100 meters depth would provide close to 90% efficiency for the linear generator's operation in the AWG.

5: Could the AWG generator be used in deep rivers?
Answer: It could be conceivably be used in very deep rivers, like the Amazon, etc. where depths sometimes exceed 30 meters or more; but the efficiency is lower than in deeper lakes and oceans. Than again, OTEC (Ocean Thermal Electric Conversion) systems only operate at between 10 to 15% efficiency, and MidEast countries have spent a $100 million or more per unit to purchase these plants, so it could make economic sense, as AWGs would be much cheaper than OTEC plants, because they do not need a floating platform with a complicated vapor turbine, and a mile or more of pipe to the deep ocean. 

6: Do you think these AWG generators would require a great deal of maintenance?
Answer: I don't think so. One thing I have learned from my brother, who is an aerospace engineer, is that the more complicated you design something, the more likely that something will go wrong. Murphy's Law in action, if you will. The AWG is a fairly simple device with few moving parts. The parts that might have to be replaced over time would most likely be the water intake and release valves and their corresponding servo mechanisms (if electrical) or mechanical lever release systems (if mechanical). Additionally, storms might damage the floating buoy on the surface, which supports the snorkel pipe, if not robustly constructed; and possibly the snorkel pipe itself; but if the pipe is designed to be articulated and with universal ball joints in the articulated sections, so that it can flex with changing surface and underwater current conditions, damage from storms and underwater current changes (oceanographers have actually documented sub sea current storms) should be minimized. The articulated pipe concept is something I came up with and actually proposed to the President of Sea Solar Power International, an OTEC manufacturer in Baltimore, Maryland. It also made sense to me for OTEC use as well.

7: Would the size of these units be large enough to interfere with shipping routes?
Answer: Absolutely not. They would be placed on the inside of the continental shelf on the seabed or in lakes on the lake bed at considerable depth. Only the buoys would be exposed on the surface, and they could be marked with lights, bells etc., much like navigation buoys are now without any adverse impact on shipping at all.

In fact one of the key advantages of the AWG concept is that it operates out of sight on the lake or seabed. The pulsating geysers exiting from the snorkel buoys would likewise not be a threat to navigation, and would actually serve as markers for the buoys, so that ships could easily avoid them.

8: Could you explain in detail why this concept is not patentable?
Answer: The patent office claims it violates "perpetual motion" provisions. They are dead set against granting patents to any device that smacks of a perpetual motion machine. Unfortunately, the AWG falls in that "grey area". It could be thought of as a kind of perpetual motion machine in that it operates without stopping, until its component parts wear out; but then OTEC falls somewhat in this category as well. In fact I see a lot of similarities between OPEC and OTEC. They both use differentials to operate. OTEC uses thermal differentials between deep ocean water and warm tropical surface water, while OPEC uses hydrostatic pressure and air pressure differentials. The advantage OPEC has over OTEC is that is not restricted to the tropical latitudes, but could be used around most of the world's ocean littorals, as well as in deep lakes. In fact I would think a Great Lakes city like Chicago, Toronto, or Duluth would be the logical place to build the first AWG and prove the OPEC concept works. I actually had a Toronto, Canada investment firm interested in trying to get the Canadian government to fund a prototype for testing in Lake Ontario, offshore from Toronto. I am not sure how far along their project has now progressed.

I filed two provisional patents in 2002 and 2003, then a utility patent in 2005. It was patent application number 11/041,708, dated 1/25/05, claiming benefit of the prior provisional patents. It was subsequently rejected by the US Patent Office on "perpetual motion" grounds. I followed-up with a CIP (Continuation in Part), but to no avail. At that point, I abandoned the patent process.

9: Since the unit is not patentable what steps other than contacting BeyondFossilFuel.com have you taken to get the word out and what has been the response?
Answer: I contacted The Oregonian, a Portland, Oregon newspaper; and their columnist, Steve Duin, discussed the concept, along with other renewable energy inventions in an Aug. 7, 2007 piece entitled, "Men at Work: Rick Dickson, Inventor". I also contacted Scoop.NZ, an independent news service in New Zealand, and they ran an article about the concept in Jan., 2006. I have contacted many other news media outlets since that time, and have promulgated the concept online through various websites over the years, including PES WIKI. I also attempted to interest several universities in the idea, including Oregon State University; but so far only one professor at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu has shown interest in the idea. I also contacted a couple of Navy contractors and the Naval Ocean Systems office a few years ago, but they showed only mild bureaucratic interest.

Regarding media contacts, I also had a website (www.hydrosphereonline.com) from mid-2006 to late 2007. It had an animation of the concept in action, and a detailed discussion with mathematical calcs. I let the Go Daddy registration expire in Dec 07, so the site is currently moribund. In addition I entered the 2007 History Channel's "Modern Marvels" invention contest, and the concept won an honorable mention award, which I previously emailed to you. Also, I contacted Oregon State University, MIT, Univ.of California (at Berkeley), Caltech, Georgia Institute of Technology, Florida Atlantic University, Rhode Island University, Univer. of NH, University of Hawaii (Manoa) and several universities in Japan, Germany and Sweden. I also contacted the Royal Society in London, and the director, Lord Ludlow Rhees,sent me a letter of interest, which indicated I should publish in a professional publication. A paper sent to the Nobel Foundation in Sweden was not answered. Subsequently, I sent a paper to the MTS (Marine Technological Society) for publication in their journal. Ditto a paper sent to the European Union's renewable energy research arm. Both found the concept interesting and of potential value, but informed me they only published works summarizing actual field trial results, not concepts. I then contacted the ICH (International Conference of Hydroelectricity) in Norway, and posted my concept on their website. The concept was also featured on Keely.net and other renewable energy websites, including PES WIKI. Finally, many U.S.and foreign newspapers (UK, Japan, Australia, NZ) were contacted, as well as ABC, CBS, CNN, and BBC. 

Regarding industry contacts, I contacted a German engineering firm, HDW AG of Hamburg. They found the concept interesting, but declined to develop it, as they were pursuing hydrogen fuel cell development exclusively.  Also, I contacted Florida Hydro, a small R&D firm, which had a Navy contract to develop a floating hydroelectric turbine, which would operate in the Gulf Stream. They found the concept interesting as well, but did not have the resources to commit to prototype development. Subsequently, I was contacted by a small Toronto, Canada investment firm. They wanted to develop the concept in Canada with Canadian govt funding. Unfortunately, they wanted me to quit my job and move to Canada and work on the project gratis, only providing a 3% equity deal, if the concept proved out. I declined to take the risk. I was also contacted by a small start-up renewable energy firm in Tampa, Florida, which saw application of the concept for use in homes via connection to the water lines. I am not sure where they are on their project. I also contacted a small firm in Seattle, which made ROVs. They thought the concept might be useful in submarine propulsion; but then they decided to go with a hydrogen fuel cell powered ROV concept. Finally, I was contacted by the President of Sea Solar Power International in Baltimore, MD(OTEC manufacturer). He showed initial interest, but then decided the original hydrosphere would not produce enough electricity to make the investment worthwhile. I agree. The follow-on AWG concept is much more efficient. I have not contacted him again concerning the AWG.

My focus now is to try and get the AWG concept the widest dissemination, so that scientists and engineers can develop it more fully and bring it to its full potential. I see the AWG and OPEC concepts as key players in future renewable power designs. There is so much to recommend the concept: (1) relatively low-cost vis-a-vis other power generation schemes, especially OTEC (its main competitor), (2) cleanest of all renewable energy schemes (out of sight on sea or lake bed) with no adverse environmental affects at all, (3) high efficiency of the AWG's linear generator (90%) gives the concept advantages over other renewable energy schemes, especially OTEC (10-15% efficient), and (4) widest geographical applicability of all renewable energy ideas (entire world ocean littoral, save polar regions) and deep lakes.

Maturity of this technology will no doubt bring electricity costs down to new lows worldwide, result in lessening of global warming through retirement of fossil fuel plants (50% of US electric power currently generated from coal-fired power plants), increased electrification (including practicality of all electric vehicles), cheap desalination plants, which will open up vast arid regions to development (e.g., Western US, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, Saharan and sub-Saharan Africa, and the Outback of Australia). finally, looking even further into the future, the concept could actually lead to practical development of underwater cities someday. As human population continues to expand globally, acquisition of new lands for human occupation becomes paramount.

The Australian Academy of Sciences was also contacted, particularly regarding the desalination application for the AWG; but no response was received.

10: I corresponded with a chief engineer of a large company in the cylinder manufacturing industry and sent him your description of the AWG generator and this was his comments. “Due to the equal areas on each side of the piston and the fact that once the pipe is full of water you have lost all mechanical advantage and you are now lifting the column of water (or trying to). It will at least last for a short period of time making some finite amount of power.” What is your response to this comment?
Answer: I agree somewhat with his response. The force of the incoming water can drive the piston up the stator column, and will produce power on the upstroke; but isn't he ignoring the corresponding force of the air being compressed by the piston, whose force is unleashed when the water release valve is opened, allowing the air to rapidly decompress and force the rotor piston down the stator column, while also forcing the depressurized water out and up through the snorkel pipe to the surface of the ocean or lake where it exits like a geyser? Thus, we get power generation on the downstroke, and a complete cycle can be maintained through opening and closing both the water intake and release valves. This concept is not difficult to visualize, if you recall those water rockets you perhaps had as a kid. You half filled them with water, then used an air pump to pressurize the air inside. Once a valve was opened, the force of the decompressing air shot the water out the rocket propelling it skyward a hundred feet or more.

If you would like to contact Rick Dickson please email hydroman1213@yahoo.com or call his cell phone 971-227-9085

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