Would it be possible to create a new source of limitless renewable energy by

chris_m

Mistermeaner wrote: »

No this is a different one.

How about mini turbine water wheels installed on all drain pipes?

You're not too way out on this one - know how the batteries in remote-readable water meters are kept charged?

chris_m

We had a discussion about this ages ago on the internal newsgroup at work, although that was more aimed at perpetual motion it could probably be adapted for power generation.

It involved the two well-known principles;
1) A cat when dropped will always land on its feet
2) A slice of buttered toast when dropped will always land butter side down.

Therefore, if you tape the buttered toast to the cat's back and drop them, the cat will try to land on its feet but the toast will try to land butter side down. If their freedom of movement could be controlled, possibly by putting them inside a sphere of just the right dimensions, the theory was that they'd spin round and round for ever. I think there were a few issues that we didn't get resolved - mainly because it started getting too silly - but surely the concept is sound

chris_m

chewmylegoff wrote: »

Cold fusion. Let us know when you have worked out how to do it.

Allair already did that in 1995, then was bought by Macromedia in 2001, which was itself then bought by Adobe in 2005. :D

cells

chewmylegoff wrote: »

Cold fusion. Let us know when you have worked out how to do it.

It exists

its called catalytic fusion

you replace the electrons on a hydrogen atom with another subatomic particle (I forget which) which is about 200x as massive that allows the hydrogen nucleus to get close enough to fuse without ridiculous amounts of heat needed.

its been done lots

only problem is when the hydrogens fuse to become helium there ia a chance thia subatomic particle joins the helium and stops doing its jobs. So far it seems they can get about 150 hydrogen atoms to fuse for each subatomic particle.

plus they have a short half life

all in all it costs more to make the subatomic particles to make the catalytic fusion work than the output ia worth

michaels

Mistermeaner wrote: »

Some great ideas so far team, give it a few days and the best gets a prize. That will involve the winner pm'ing me an address but dont worry I won't do anything weird to you.

In that case I would like to withdraw my entry

zagubov

Bury wind turbines deep inside coal mines. No blighting the landscape or complaints from nimbys.:)

cells

mionls wrote: »

What about putting small generators on kites flown up in the jet stream where it is always windy, the string could be a wire to transport the electricity down to the grid?

Wire can only be so long before it can't even support itself let alone tig on a kite

but project makani is simolar but at lower altitudes and its got fantastic potential

mystic_trev

Mistermeaner wrote: »

Launching a probe to the moon with a really long piece of string attached connected to a generator

Perhaps lunching a probe up Uranus might generate a bit more interest? It certainly worked for Bruno

ukcarper

zagubov wrote: »

Bury wind turbines deep inside coal mines. No blighting the landscape or complaints from nimbys.:)

Could work replace lift wheel with a big funnel sure the ex miners wouldn't be nimbyish about it.

cells

Mistermeaner wrote: »

Launching a probe to the moon with a really long piece of string attached connected to a generator floating somewhere near the equator which by means of the earths rotation somehow powered something?

Or failing that, given no upfront cost or engineering constraints what would be the best clean way of tapping limitless renewable energy ?

There is no such thing as renewable there ia a finite time to everything.


Anyway to play silly games

PV tech wouls be extremely fantastic if earth was locked to the sun so one side always faces it (like how the moon faces the earth)....that way aolar farms woupd get 100% CF and not nees any storage.

So I would use your infinite strength string and some sort of contraption to change the rotation of earth so it ways faces the sun at point.

preferably the Atlantic will face the sun. That way europe and the Americas would be ok and weat africa. The middle east and the proper east (india china etc) would be a little fooked but we can just give them council homes