Wave Tank Experiment

First test of the wave burst concept:
To build a sculpture that lives in the ocean and that is designed to do amazing and joyful things when waves hit it.
Nature makes great wave breaks along rocky shores, but the best ones destroy themselves quickly due to erosion and high impact.
The Wave Burst is designed for efficient conversion of wave energy into geysers and sprays. The real ones will be built of high grade reinforced concrete.
This first experiment was conducted with modelling clay to evaluate shapes that are effective for focusing and directing breaking waves.
As simple as it is, the results are encouraging. We observe water jets that are frequently more than five times the height of the incoming wave.

[@Sarah-cq5sd]

How did you use the windshield wiper motor? Were you able to ply it in somehow? Did you have to screw the hinge to the bottom? I'm tying to get a wave tank working, but am not having much luck. Also mine is made out of glass so I don't know if I could use a hinge. Do you have any suggestions? I would appreciate you so much!!

[@DanielIngalls]

I junked the paddle in the video and made another one. I just wedged a board in the bottom of the tank with a hinge and the paddle that you see (just a piece of plywood. I then used a windshield wiper motor from an old car (available from junk yards). Of course, to get started you can do the paddle completely by hand and it will do just fine.

[@christinakim3228]

What kind of windshield wiper motor did you use? /do you have any recommendations for alternate wave generators?

[@DanielIngalls]

Hi Christina - almost anything will work. Start with your hand - in other words push the paddle back and forth. That will give you some waves plus you'll learn how fast or slow makes the best waves

[@christinakim3228]

Daniel Ingalls I'm making a wave tank for a science fair experiment so my partner and I are hoping to use a motor to measure rpms (and then converting to Hz). However most of the motors we've looked at don't have the motor cover (the yellow cover with the external triangular piece of metal). Any ideas? And thank you for the feedback!

[@DanielIngalls]

I just made it out of plywood. If you make it big like mine (16 inches high and wide and 12 feet long) then you need to make it strong (use screws and very strong legs) as it will weigh a great deal when full. I suggest much smaller for science fair (1/2 of each dimension makes 1/8 the total weight). I just lined it with plastic for waterproofing, but paint and caulk could work too. Good luck!

[@frankefc9]

how I can do the paddle?