Mechanical power generation using Earth's ambient radiation
1–10 of 70 posts
Re: Mechanical power generation using Earth's ambient radiation
#2Somewhat different, but this reminds me of an approach that uses temperature gradients in the ocean to power a heat engine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_thermal_energy_conversio...
Re: Mechanical power generation using Earth's ambient radiation
#3400 milliwatts per square meter? That's interesting that they can do it at all, but that level is completely impractical for real use.
Re: Mechanical power generation using Earth's ambient radiation
#4400 milliwatts per square meter? That's interesting that they can do it at all, but that level is completely impractical for real use.
> the generation of >400 milliwatts per square meter of mechanical power with a potential for >6 watts per square meter.
Keep in mind the power is fully mechanical so no electricity or control circuit is required. And based on the simplicity it seems like a good candidate to power something that you need to last 100 years with no maintenance for example.
Re: Mechanical power generation using Earth's ambient radiation
#5Somewhat different, but this reminds me of an approach that uses temperature gradients in the ocean to power a heat engine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_thermal_energy_conversio...
OTECs are amazing, and step 1 of "The Millennial Project: Colonizing the galaxy in eight easy steps"[0]
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Millennial_Project
There's a shore-based research OTEC in Hawaii, but the best is a floating, closed-loop OTEC in the ocean.
Re: Mechanical power generation using Earth's ambient radiation
#6400 milliwatts per square meter? That's interesting that they can do it at all, but that level is completely impractical for real use.
> the generation of >400 milliwatts per square meter of mechanical power with a potential for >6 watts per square meter. Keep in mind the power is fully mechanical so no electricity or control circuit is required. And based on the simplicity it seems like a good candidate to power something that you need to last 100 years with no maintenance for example.
I think the "last 100 years with no maintenance" is not likely feasible with this approach. The top plate has a coating that supports high infrared emissivity -- and I think it would need to be regularly cleaned to work well. And you can't really prevent it from getting dirty by enclosing it b/c that both substantially changes the performance and moves the maintenance burden to cleaning the enclosure.
Re: Mechanical power generation using Earth's ambient radiation
#7400 milliwatts per square meter? That's interesting that they can do it at all, but that level is completely impractical for real use.
So what? It's research, not business. Surely you didn't expect they'd found a practical source of free energy that was ready to compete with solar but somehow nobody else bothered to try before?
Re: Mechanical power generation using Earth's ambient radiation
#8In one of the later Foundation series books, Isaac Asimov had a whole world run on this.
Re: Mechanical power generation using Earth's ambient radiation
#9400 milliwatts per square meter? That's interesting that they can do it at all, but that level is completely impractical for real use.
> the generation of >400 milliwatts per square meter of mechanical power with a potential for >6 watts per square meter. Keep in mind the power is fully mechanical so no electricity or control circuit is required. And based on the simplicity it seems like a good candidate to power something that you need to last 100 years with no maintenance for example.
Mechanical things don't usually work for 100 years with no maintenance. Bearings run dry, if nothing else.
Re: Mechanical power generation using Earth's ambient radiation
#10If anyone is interested in passive sub-ambient cooling (not for power generation, just for "free" cooling) I strongly recommend https://www.youtube.com/@Nighthawkinlight -- he has been doing a lot of experiments in this space and releasing recipes as he goes. Stuff you can do in your kitchen.