Irrigation on the hoof

New Scientist vol 174 issue 2344 - 25 May 2002, page 21

Farmers will soon be tapping into "cow power" to help them water their crops. Gary Henderson of Gravitational Systems in New York has developed a pump
that's driven by cows walking over it. The pump has a horizontal metal plate that can be embedded in the ground along any path the cows use regularly.
When a cow steps onto the plate, it compresses a water-filled plastic bladder underneath. This pushes water out through a one-way valve into a pipe. As
the beast steps off the plate, springs inside the bladder force it to expand, drawing water in through another one-way valve.

The pumps could be installed in rows to force irrigation water from rivers or lakes into a water tower. They could also be put in roads to generate
electricity as cars drive over them, says Henderson. Water forced out of the pump turns a generator before returning to the pump. "You can imagine
having these in cities like Los Angeles, with the cars driving the pumps and the pumps powering roadside lighting and signs," he says.

 

moo... ^__^

 

always so happy lv ^-^

 

m00

 

Sounds cool....but how soft would the roads have to be for that to work. Makes more sense on the grass, but even then I imagine that the ground would get torn up after a while. Hmmm.....is this realy or did you make it up? lol, the longer I think about it the more problems I see in it. Cool idea though.

Rice

 

this could be embedded under current road surface technology and work

 

arf

 

alex what happend to your other avatar.....lol, from hot asses to a crab...hmmm....is there a story in here somewhere

Rice