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#881
Oh well, our firewall seems to know that this is a video and blocks it like all videos.

I read this guys stuff and it seems to me anyone facile in fluid mechanics might be able to compute the total available kinetic energy in moving air for a given cross-sectional area and velocity. This might be over unity after all.

I live two blocks from this puppy...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter_Square

It's unbelievable how low a wind speed gets this thing going and it self limits in gales. All it needs is a generator.
 
#882
The simple answer is right, 1/2mv**2, where the mass is just area x density x v. I always wondered about the v cubed term, never really thought about it. The folks below have added a nice touch, make hydrogen for a fuel cell and you eliminate the problem of where to put the energy when your batteries are charged. Current COP's for turbines run around .3 or .4 average. Claims of 10x or 16x improvement are clearly over unity.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/60/29328/01325301.pdf?arnumber=1325301
 
#883
I'd like to look at those more... where I live we probably have 5 windless days in a year... its actualy so unusual... it would be the first thing you notice on those days.. look no wind... and I guess even then there is probably a 1 to 2mph (to use your crappy imperial system) wind...

It definately needs a wire cage to keep cats and kids out... as well as incredible attachment to to ground to prevent it bowing away in a storm...

takeing it to the next step the panels could be made like venitian blinds, so you can control the speed by adjusting how much just passes through...

So how does the high torque help... purely the ability to turn the stator in a strong magnetic field?
 
#885
As expected Phi Tran turns up the null set on patent applications. That video is amusing, he couldn't afford $300 for an AirX generator head to show some actual output against a load? Turning against no resistance does not show much, "clearly lots of turque" requires some imagination.
 
#888
Geoff H said:
We are all looking to the sky for alternate power. I think the answer's in the ocean. It just needs some big pipes and turbines plus some gas and suck the energy out of the thermocline.

www.oceansatlas.com/unatlas/uses/EnergyResources/Background/OTEC/OTEC2.html

It's not new, it does work, it's just not implemented. I suppose it could harm global economy.
Click to expand...


Nice stuff Geoff, an honest assesment of the pros and cons. An interesting angle on geo-thermal. It's ironic that the nuclear engine that drives our planet is so much an anathema to people when someone wants to re-create it on the surface.
 
#889
Yeah Scott, it starts some interesting discussions, and you can actually get sheeple (we have em too) to think. Most point to the efficiency aspect. Big deal, the power source is free, and gets renewed every sunrise. Others are concerned about whales swimming into them. Sonar. Whoops, big targets for enemies. Others scream global warming. It will reduce ocean temps - a little, very little. Then I partially agree, we shouldn't interfere with the worlds natural temp control. Don't worry about global warming, I'm more concerned with the next ice age, I don't think I'll hang around for it. Others say it would be good for carbon emissions. I like to point out that man can't compete with volcanoes.

Then I go in for the kill. This planet used to be covered with huge forests of trees, (now our oil and coal source) which some are trying to recreate. We better fix the atmosphere, cause those trees are going to need heaps of carbon dioxide to absorb, and convert to oxygen.

I have a distant relative currently working in a coal fired power station. He's also worked on ships with superheated team turbines. So he knows a bit about heat cycles etc. His main concern is job security. These things don't need someone to watch the boiler.
 
#892
I am assuming you mean the gas but I have questions about that. A good deal of petro chemicals are used in the everyday workings of an electric company. In my case, I think about the vehicle that is driven to my home to read the meter and the maintenance trucks out there keeping the system running. I also wonder about all those employees driving to work for the electric company.

I don't know the answer, I just like to include the variables before making a decision.

EDIT: Was typing during your clarification. 🙂
 
#893
Hi Cal,
From the amount of cut cords and those happy people mowing a wet lawn .... Let's just say that we need those electric mowers to allow Darwin a chance to thin the herd.

I use a four stroke gas mower. I think it's about 6.5 HP, which is silly high. It is not self propelled.

Do electric mowers have enough power to mulch grass clippings? If not, why use them?

-Chris
 
#894
Cal Weldon said:
I don't know the answer, I just like to include the variables before making a decision.

EDIT: Was typing during your clarification. 🙂
Click to expand...


😀 I loved the stacked edits. Let's see if we get this one right the first time.

Anyway, the math is done, and the gas lawn mower is about the most polluting engine in the known universe, other than setting a match to texas tea and letting the smoke turn a turbine to generate electricity.

I am not 100% sure about the overall CO2 emissions, but the other stuff that those engines spew out is NASTY!!!

The NY Times did a pretty good write up talking about how bad the current crop of lawn mowers actually are.

The variables are out there if you need to make the decision, and google your friend! 😀
 
#895
Use 1-2 of those horsepower to generate brown's gas and inject that into the intake airstream, and get most of that power back due to increased efficency and the exhaust will be virtually cleaned up to the point of zero emissions.

One is still using 'produced' (meaning dirty to manufacture, etc) hydrocarbons to power the mower, but the emissive output is very clean. Maybe a little bit of seebeck thrown in to capture and use some of the excess heat.

There are many things that can be done to massively improve the output of these gasoline fuel actuated systems.

Oil was ~$9.5 a barrel before the nightmare began in the middle east.

There is ZERO reason for it to be priced as it is today, except the stupidity of the nose-led public.
 
#897
I have an entire section in my favorites called 'seebeck generators'. Enough info and links I had to create a separate section for it.

I found an american company that is making 50 and 60 watts ones (and more!), which is pretty darned amazing. They have a selection of about 50 different models.

I'll grab a bunch of the links, , maybe all. Among them will be the chinese company you are talking about. I suspect it is the one who is the source point for all those low priced peltiers on fleabay. The really big ones.


First, try a google for 'made in china', a great web based chinese source point. Type seebeck into their search engine. You will like it for transofrmers and chassis as well......

ok. here we go:

http://www.made-in-china.com/


seebeck:

http://www.ferrotec.com/products/thermal/modules/

http://www.sitechina.com/thermoelectric/Pspec.html

http://www.kryotherm.com/Thermoelectric Generating Modules.htm

http://www.hi-z.com/

http://www.huimao.com/series3.htm

might be seebeck?
http://www.epower4.com/


a short listing:
http://www.medibix.com/CompanySearch.jsp?cs_choice=c&clt_choice=t&treepath=16211&stype=i

and an absolutely wicked pile of physics applets:
http://www.falstad.com/mathphysics.html
 
#898
M R Fish
 

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