VietNamNet Bridge - The young scientists that belong to the Young Scientists' Club under the Hanoi Communist Youth Union are known for their useful and creative inventions and products: they've turned sea water into fresh water, they've made both the tide and the wind produce electricity and they're turning human waste into fertilizer. Their slogan: Simple inventions using simple things.
The research projects of the Young Scientists' Club oftentimes involve the solders who are based on islands. The head of the club, Dr. Ngo Anh Quan, said that initially research that was done by club members was in response to a promise made to solders on an island.
A friend of Quan, Le Duy Hung Thinh, who is on the Hanoi Communist Youth Union, once took a trip to the Bach Long Vi district island (off of Hai Phong city) and he noticed that the soldiers based there were living a rather hard life. At that time he promised the solders that he'd try to do something for them. He then spoke to Dr. Quan.
Although he had no idea where he might begin, Dr. Quan thought that if he could turn sea water into fresh water, well, that would be a nice thing to do. After looking into all of the current means possible of turning sea water into fresh water, he concluded that he'd need to do large amounts and he'd need chemicals and specialized equipment to use a deoxidation method.
Vietnamese solders, most being from the poor countryside, don't have much money so they would have no source of capital. He'd also need petroleum and he'd have to hire skilled people to operate the equipment. What he came up with is easy-to-operate equipment. "Does this box seem at all special to you?" asked Dr. Quan when he spoke to our reporters.
The box looked simple enough but this is what's used to turn salt water into fresh water. "For people living in the mainland, fresh water is neither rare nor expensive. However, on the island, fresh water is as dear to the soldiers as their blood. If you go there you'll see that a constant in these soldiers' lives is the lack of fresh water," said Quan.
A simple invention
Tong Van Dung, a member of the Young Scientists' Club and the man who got the idea on how to turn tidal energy into electricity, said that he was inspired by a newspaper article. While fuel is expensive,
These are environmentally friendly energy sources and they should be utilized whenever possible. He understood that the cost of producing solar energy is high and it can be used for only 12 hours a day. That left the tide and the wind, both readily available on offshore islands. Tung and other club members then started experimenting.
To turn tidal movement into electricity they needed just a wheel (like from a bicycle), rubber bands, and a homemade turbine mounted on a pontoon. When the whole thing goes up and down due with the tide, the wheel turns and the turbine generates electricity.
Wind powered generators operate under the same principle: a turbine is run by wind and the electricity is stored in specialized batteries. A wind powered generator consists of a bicycle wheel, a set of gears and vertical shaft propellers. If both the tide and wind are unavailable, the turbine can be fueled by human physical strength. This means that electricity can be available at all times.
Their wind driven generators are very portable, about 1.2m high and 0.8m wide. An islander could bring it out in the morning and take it home in the evening. It can be used anytime and can be shielded from harsh weather conditions.
The club members are making and testing generators that use both the tide and the wind. Making use of the wind and the tide at the same time, the power output would be bigger. The tide driven generators and the generators that use both tide and wind energy were displayed at the Red River Delta Technology and Equipment Fair 2008 (Techmart Ha Nam 2008) and the Capital City Technology and Equipment Fair 2008 (Techmart Hanoi 2008).
Local scientists are also doing research that involves 'a sea-based vegetable garden' and they brought 10 composite tanks to the Truong Sa archipelago (
This is still an ongoing experiment. The goal is that after being treated for 7-10 days, the waste will be odorless and can be used to fertilize the soldiers' gardens. It could be used to replenish land on the island. All the club members have full-time jobs but, when they do have spare time, they sometimes go to the Hanoi University of Technology to work on experimental projects. They are making a joint effort to create things that will be of practical use to island solders.
VietNamNet/VEN
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