Ocean waves move horizontally across a plane. Their movement causes vertical turbulence in substrata to a depth correspondent with the size and period of the wave. Below this depth, pressure and viscous shear diminish turbidity and attenuate water particle motion. Relative movement between two buoys, with one floating on hydroface and the other suspended at essentially undisturbed strata, reveals significant change from effective wave motion. Consider one buoy, with a rod attached to it, floating on the hydroface. Consider another buoy, with a tube attached to it, submerged at the undisturbed depth by an air to weight ratio- the volume of contained air to the weight of its container plus the attached tube. Reciprocation occurs with the rod inside the tube as a result of ocean wave troughing and cresting. However, horizontal wave forces push the floating buoy away from the submerged buoy so that it cannot naturally return to the initial vertical position. If another rod, with a weight mass secured on one end, is attached to the bottom of the submerged buoy (with mass subtracted from the original buoy mass) an improved air to weight configuration is achieved but the relationship remains somewhat tenuous. A most stable assembly is obtained if the width of the weight is greater than the submerged sphere diameter. The arrangement simply resembles a cone, having apex pointed in an upward direction, not unlike the rotated stance of a defensive boxer preparing to receive a punch. With regard to readily manufactured components, this conical form translates to the general shape of a tetrahedron module providing suitable power generation means that convert wave energy to electrical energy. Simple beginnings with table tennis ball and wire assemblies in water filled wastebaskets led to working models construction and testing of the first thus termed OWEC Ocean Wave Energy Converter™.
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