Would it plummet out of the sky if the wind dropped suddenly?
It has a generator.
That is to say, it has a motor.
Google Makani – Wind Energy Kites
71–80 of 165 posts
Re: Google Makani – Wind Energy Kites
#72Good, could people just stop messing with how scrolling works.
This is actually the best scrolling I've encountered in one of these glorified-slideshow types of sites, especially for those who (like me) like to scroll with the arrow keys.
Re: Google Makani – Wind Energy Kites
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm with you, but I'm a power user. I wonder if anyone has any sentiment analysis showing whether the average web user likes this sort of thing, or finds it annoying.
I'm probably a "power user" as well, but I literally cannot navigate the site. It's like 1/3 of my scrolls don't even register. This isn't "design for the masses," it's just plain broken. Edit: I don't know why I'm being downvoted, it must be working for some people. Here is a video of me trying to scroll (in Chrome) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulAw0P2geRE
I'm able to scroll perfectly fine with Conkeror (and by extension Firefox).
Think of it less like an ordinary web page and more like a slideshow, since that's basically what this is.
Re: Google Makani – Wind Energy Kites
#74I'm worried about the noise. The blades spin many times faster than a regular windmill. I imagine it will sound similar to a small plane flying very close to the ground. Of course a plane flies over once and it's gone; this thing will produce a constant droning noise that fluctuates in pitch and volume every few seconds as the kite goes up and down. If you put them far offshore this wouldn't be a problem, but I wouldn't want one of these near my house.
Re: Google Makani – Wind Energy Kites
#75Crazy ideas should come with graphs. Not clear how much it costs, how much energy it will generate, and how it will recoup the cost.
check this http://www.google.com/makani/solution/
Re: Google Makani – Wind Energy Kites
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've never heard the argument that current wind turbine are unsustainable before. I don't see why that would be so. The base is concrete, the tower is steel, neither of which is exotic. The generator is pretty standard. All of that is industrial tech we invented a century ago, and we know how to maintain it for the long haul. The blades themselves are composite, that may have some longevity issues (you typically need…
Motor assemblies and the hub likely take the brunt of the stress and would require the most maintenance. Servicing them in the long term is a problem in that there simply not enough qualified people to do that job. Figure part electrician, part mechanic, and more, just to be able to work on one. Then throw in that candidates for this work must be very physically fit and mentally agile to be able to do the two hundred…
The people-work relation is a whole other subject. Definitely something to look at, but one that drags in a lot of other topics.
But I would like to add this: other power plants have similar complex HR requirements (think nuclear, water).
Re: Google Makani – Wind Energy Kites
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've never heard the argument that current wind turbine are unsustainable before. I don't see why that would be so. The base is concrete, the tower is steel, neither of which is exotic. The generator is pretty standard. All of that is industrial tech we invented a century ago, and we know how to maintain it for the long haul. The blades themselves are composite, that may have some longevity issues (you typically need…
Thank you for your reply. I used to live in Scotland where there are a lot of wind turbines and I remember controversy in the news about the fact that while the expected lifespan of a wind turbine should be around 20 years, the actual lifespan ended up being in the region of 12 years, and the long-term maintenance costs ended up being higher than expected. There was also controversy about the environmental damage don…
controversy in the news about the fact that while the expected lifespan of a wind turbine should be around 20 years, the actual lifespan ended up being in the region of 12 years
There certainly was controversy. An initial study did indicate the lifespan was likely to be 12 years[1], but that was immediately questioned because Scotland already had 16 yo windfarms with no maintenance issues.
That initial study led to additional research, which showed that:
the UK's earliest turbines, built in the 1990s, are still producing three-quarters of their original output after 19 years of operation, nearly twice the amount previously claimed, and will operate effectively up to 25 years. This is comparable to the performance of gas turbines used in power stations.
The study also found that more recent turbines are performing even better than the earliest models, suggesting they could have a longer lifespan.[2]
Also, there's no real controversy about "damage done to forests and birds, as well as noise pollution". There's no damage at all to forests, bird deaths are in the order of 0.1% and noise pollution is what it is: they can be noisy if they are built near you, but there is no mystical "subsonics" or something that some people claim.
[1] http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/scotland/wind-turbines-life...
[2] http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/newsandeventspggrp/imperialcolleg...
Re: Google Makani – Wind Energy Kites
#78I'm worried about the noise. The blades spin many times faster than a regular windmill. I imagine it will sound similar to a small plane flying very close to the ground. Of course a plane flies over once and it's gone; this thing will produce a constant droning noise that fluctuates in pitch and volume every few seconds as the kite goes up and down. If you put them far offshore this wouldn't be a problem, but I would…
The majority of noise you hear from a small prop plane flying above is from the engine.
Also, the advanced height they're trying to achieve limits the amount of noise relative to what you would hear from a small drone overhead.
Re: Google Makani – Wind Energy Kites
#79I think it's fucked up that "modern", "mobile-first" web design essentially boils down to powerpoint in a browser.
That said, this is a cool idea.
Re: Google Makani – Wind Energy Kites
#80It seems like if there were a "farm" of these kites, they would have to be very widely spaced out, or else they would crash into each other or get their tethers tangled up.