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Student Solves Small-Scale Energy Issue With Science Fair Project

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The majority of energy around the world comes from fossil fuel and nuclear power plants but a Florida Atlantic University High School student may just have created a more efficient and economical way to produce energy.

And she got the attention of the leader of the free world in doing so.

"The current energy represented by my hand drives the mechanical movement of the propeller system which in turn generates the electric system and the pulley system in the ocean energy probe," said 15-year-old Hannah Herbst, showing how her system works.

It may sound complicated but Hannah says it's a simple and cheap way to harvest energy!

The Boca Raton teen developed what she calls the "Ocean Energy Probe." It's a device with a propeller that uses incoming currents in intercostal waterways to make energy.

"I found that it created enough energy to power an LED light system. And when I did some calculations, if I were to add an integrated circuit or another device to balance that power, then I could charge a battery for one hour," she added.

And if Hannah's design was scaled up, it could produce enough electricity to charge three car batteries in about an hour.

Impressive right? The judges for the 2015 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge thought so and awarded Hannah the first place prize.

Also impressed -- the president.

Hannah took part in the White House science fair last week and had a chat with Mr. Obama.

"He asked me about my project, my pen pal and asked about me as a person," said Hannah.

That pen pal is a student in Ethiopia who inspired Hannah to make the ocean energy probe to help developing countries, like Ethiopia, find a stable power source.

The sky's the limit -- or rather the ocean's the limit -- as to how much energy it could potentially harvest.

Her hope one day is to convert salt water into fresh water, power up lights and even medical supplies. Through her work, she wants to inspire other students to get involved with science.

"When I spin the string on my prototype, they watch the lights light up they think, ya know, anything is really possible if you just try stuff," Hannah said.

Hannah plans on improving the Ocean Energy Probe so that it can eventually be used in developing countries.

And she says she is going to put most of the $25,000 prize money toward a college fund.

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