The Next Wave: The Quest to Harness the Power of the Oceans

by Elizabeth Rusch

Overview

From acclaimed Scientists in the Field author Elizabeth Rusch comes the electrifying story of the scientists and engineers who are working to transform ocean waves into electricity.

Journey to the wave-battered coast of the Pacific Northwest to meet some of the engineers and scientists working to harness the punishing force of our oceans, one of nature’s powerful and renewable energy sources. With an array of amazing devices that cling to the bottom of the sea floor and surf on the crests of waves, these explorers are using a combination of science, imagination, and innovation to try to capture wave energy in the hopes of someday powering our lives in a cleaner, more sustainable way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781328852328
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	07/24/2018
Series:	Scientists in the Field Series
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	184,672
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

The award-winning freelance writer Elizabeth Rusch is the author of a number of award-winning nonfiction titles for children, including: Generation Fix, Will it Blow?,The Planet Hunter, and For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart. Her previous Scientists in the Field titles include Eruption!, The Mighty Mars Rovers and The Next Wave. Elizabeth lives in Portland, Oregon, with her family. You can visit Liz online at www.elizabethrusch.com and follow her on Twitter @elizabethrusch.

Editorial Reviews

* "Lively design, clear explanations, text boxes, photographs and diagrams all contribute to an informative look at how people are working right now to find ways to use a previously inaccessible energy source."

—Kirkus, starred review

"Rusch fully explores the engineering process, capturing the determined, entrepreneurial spirit of the profiled engineers as well as the need for creative problem-solving and ingenuity, a test-and-retest mentality, a high tolerance for failure, and perseverance through the quest for research funding."

—Horn Book Magazine


• "This pellucid look into a promising field of alternative energy (so needed in a warming world) and into the scientists devoting their lives to bring concept into reality is informative, intriguing, and inspiring."

—School Library Journal, starred review

"Kids who imagine an engineering career in their future will want to explore this timely work."
—Bulletin

"Rusch once again looks at the convergence of science and technology. Writing clearly about the engineers' trial-and-error methods, she conveys the importance of testing, the necessity of funding, and the satisfaction of working toward a worthwhile goal." A fine choice for young people intrigued by engineering and oceanography!"
—Booklist Online

 

From the Publisher

The ocean is always moving. So why can’t we take that kinetic energy and change it into electricity? This is the basic question that scientists and engineers in this book answer. Focusing mostly on the west coast of the United States, Rusch looks at several different pieces of wave technology. The first is a turbine that takes its energy from the change in pressure caused by the wave. The second is a buoy that captures energy as it bounces in the waves. Each discovery narrative shows the germ of the idea, and how the engineers built on it. The narrative also tells how the process sometimes got sidetracked by a big storm, and had to be built again. Showing the perseverance of the engineers is a piece of the narrative that Rusch does very well. She also shows that the process is, in this case, a group effort. And, equally important, she shows them having fun. Illustrated with color photos and drawings, this book will inspire kids to look for ways of harnessing energy in everything around them. Back matter includes a source list with citations for each chapter, a listing of websites, and an index. Reviewer: Amy S. Hansen; Ages 8 to 14.

Children's Literature - Amy S. Hansen

★ 11/01/2014
Gr 5–8—Rainforests and savannahs, coral reefs and tundra—readers are most likely familiar with these fields in which scientists work. But this time, it is the energy of the physical movement of the global ocean that is the field, and here in this world of watery physics, a series of imaginative, innovative engineers have been designing, building, and experimenting to successfully harness this inexorable surge of energy. Rusch's readable text follows three very varied groups of visionary engineers on this quest: Mike Morrow and Mike Delos-Reyes (who are working on a device that will allow people to sit upon the ocean floor), Annette von Jouanne and her team (working on a floating design), and the cofounders of Ocean Power Technologies, the first to win a permit to generate "ocean electricity" to be marketed to homes and businesses on the Oregon coast. Included are sidebars on a rich variety of topics such as "Working with Watts" and a global inventory of "Wild Wave Inventions of the World." Colorful diagrams and a plethora of photos provide visual stimulation as well. This pellucid look into a promising field of alternative energy (so needed in a warming world) and into the scientists devoting their lives to bring concept into reality is informative, intriguing, and inspiring.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

★ 2014-08-27
Scientists and engineers from around the world work to harness the power of ocean waves, testing their ideas in an Oregon research lab and the stormy seas off the Oregon coast. Here's another well-written science title from an author whose previous contributions to the Scientists in the Field series introduced researchers studying volcanic eruptions on Earth and exploring Mars. After explaining the world's need for renewable energy sources and the force of ocean power, Rusch focuses on three different approaches to harnessing this power that were underway at the time of her writing. She draws in young readers by introducing two engineers as young tinkerers, following their work through college to the development of a company testing an energy-capture device that sits on the ocean floor. An Oregon State University faculty member has equipped a testing ground offshore to monitor different approaches; some of her students are now building a device that uses the up-and-down motion of the waves. A third company has created working wave-powered buoys using a different design. A center spread describes other approaches from around the world. Lively design, clear explanations, text boxes, photographs and diagrams all contribute to an informative look at how people are working right now to find ways to use a previously inaccessible energy source. Timely, important, appropriately focused and interesting. (extensive chapter notes, sources, suggestions, index) (Nonfiction. 10-15)

Kirkus Reviews