[Geof]

I found this on Wikipedia:

Electrodynamic tethers are long conducting wires, such as the one deployed from the tether satellite, which can operate on electromagnetic principles as generators, by converting their kinetic energy to electrical energy, or as motors, converting electrical energy to kinetic energy. Electric potential is generated across a conductive tether by its motion through the Earth's magnetic field. ....

But as you see it is kinetic energy being converted to electrical energy; that is the kinetic energy nof the satellite or Shuttle. This means the satellite or Shuttle has to slow down. It is like using dynamic braking in an electric vehicle, the kinetic energy is converted into electrical energy which is either dissipated through a resistor or put back into the batteries, the vehicle slows down.

[merl]

Geof,
I finely see the base of my question and have my own answer to it.
You can't get somthing for nothing in this universe. If I want to create a type of electricity that can do little apparent work (static electricity) then it won't take much to create it. If I want to produce a type of electrical power that can do some real work I will need to put at least that much kinetic energy in. Simple logic is too often over looked.
Thankyou Obi-Wan, for correcting my mind and body...

[debogus]

Low amperage/ high voltage. Static capture and use ?
Capacitors?
Large capacitors have to be shorted during storage due to their abilty to charge from static in the air (enough to kill you!)
Same goes with high voltage power transmission lines they can be unhooked at both ends can charge up to lethal levels.

So you need to get some large ass caps and then a method to convert it down to usable levels.

Do it and win a nobel.
Or die in a conspiracy therory

[vger]

I've been reading along here and have seen the light-bulb come on more than once.. Just what does it take to power a light bulb? 100 watt bulb to make it easy. If the bulb draws 100 watts of "power" at 120 Volts RMS AC, then the current through the circuit will be 0.8333.... Amperes. So what's an Ampere? 1 Coulomb of electrons (or units of electric charge) past one point in 1 second = 1 ampere. 1 Culomb = 6.241506×10^18 electrons. Now, lets look as those electrons as little BB's and if you look at their height above the ground as their "potential" to do work (the reverse of raising 550 lbs straight up 1 foot in 1 second) The more BB's you have 100 feet up in the air the more work you can do as you extract "that" potential energy on their way to the ground. Or, the higher you raise 100 BB's above the ground the more work you can do as you extract "that" potential energy on their way to the ground. If you look at the altitude as the Voltage and the number of BB's as the Amperage..... So to power that light bulb... just take about 172,197,817,339,176 electrons and force them through the resistance of the filiment of the light bulb in 1 second, and it will light, for 1 second.

Here is a little experiment for you. Take one of those really strong neodymium magnets hold it at the top edge of a sheet of aluminum that is almost vertical. Let it slide down the aluminum sheet.

Tesla was a bit ahead of his time in many respects. Not just the his coil, look at the turbine too, not to mention polyphase motors and the AC electric grid (as opposed to Edisons recomendation that we use DC) etc.. etc...

Till next time.
Steve

[debogus]

light-bulb come on?

Drop the magnet down a copper pipe also.

[miljnor]

Geof is right for the most part but there is "free" energy to be had sort of....

The universe is in constant flux and forces are acting on every particle at every moment. You can draw energy where there was seemingly none before.

We just haven't found a way to exploit the "free" (sort of) energy into a usable medium yet.

sources of potential energy: gravity, earths rotation threw magnetic field, previously mentioned Ionic particles, solar winds, etc....

Any thing that is moving threw space has the potential to supply energy, of course by using this energy you will slow or stop the particle/body, but I'm thinking, if its a body as big as a planet your not going to slow it down appreciably.

Armchair physics at its finest!



Maybe wishful thinking but I don't think so. After all nuclear energy is a "free"(sort of) energy because nature supplies it.

[merl]

debogus, I have a question related to your comments about the charging of capacitors from static electricity in the air.
Are you saying that storing the static electrical charge in a capacitor somehow turns it in to usefull electricity (voltage and usable amperage?) or do we still have to find some way to convert the static charge.
I have to run but, when I get back I want to lay out the beginings of an idea for power generation to see what you all think.

[debogus]

Not sure of potential stored in one , just that it was enough to hurt(kill)from static. Nor have I personaly discharged a static stored capacitor to even guess.

I was stating that static like carpet shock could be stored.
But how much , before you gained a usefull charge would be another question.

Van graph(?) generators work on the same principle .


But I'm just guessing that given a certain storage capicity ,discharged through a "something to step it down" gizmo

They electronicly step up low dc to high dc discharge voltages.save that to a capacitor then dump it to "BLOW STUFF UP" and make crazy strong short lived electro magnets.(wire goes bang)

Just seems to reason you could step it back down some way.

But like I posted earlier

You figuire out how and you'll be a conspircy story.(nuts)

Tesla made high voltage into a electro magnetic wave and could rectify that back down.( but then again ,thats induction not static)

So the knowlege is probably buried with him.

Interesting idea though.

[wineslob]

My 6th grade science fair project was a 250KV tesla coil. Would light a flourescent (burnt out even) bulb about 30 ft away. It was a big tuned transformer at about 100 Khz basicly. Also destroyed off air tv and radio reception over quite a range. Definately not good for computer circuitry in the near vicinity either.

As for the Tesla turbine, here are a couple of links...
http://www.teslaengine.org/main.html
http://www.phoenixnavigation.com/
http://phoenixnavigation.com/ptbc/home.htm

As for using old oil wells for geothermal, you would want to drill them quite a bit deeper in most cases. California has some geothermal plants in production, but of course they are near the pacific "ring of fire" where thermal energy is available nearer the surface. One test well in austrailia back in 2003 was over 14,000 feet deep. Many older plugged wells are only 2000 ft deep. Just have to look around.

Steve

This very true. I've been to the geothermal area near Clear Lake Ca. I spent about a week there doing small steam line (2"-3" pipe) clean up for a company called Rain for Rent. The lines were used in the process of drilling the steam wells in the area. Some were upwards of 15,000 ft deep.
Geothermal is a filthy power source. The areas around the plants were covered with signs warning about the organic arsenic and other cancer causing contaminates in the areas. There were no animals or vegatation around most of the power stations (it looked like a moonscape around them). I was warned to stay away from the local streams.
Essentiality it was one of the most polluted and envriomentally ruined areas I've ever seen.

[debogus]

Good post
makes good old fashioned coal ,look pretty green

[vger]

If it wasn't for CO2, plants would not be green. That's a scarry thought. The "Think Green" movement is ok, but we don't need to take it to excess.

Electrical energy stored in a capacitor is a static charge. That capacitor can take on many forms. In a VanDeGraf generator it is generally the smooth surface of the sphere on top. The larger the sphere, the more electrons it will store. Voltage is the force or pressure behind the flow, and Amps is the quantity of the flow.

Tesla was "transmitting" power via electomagnetic waves (radio waves). Not a bad idea, just the implementation of it was really not viable.

If we had to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses to zero, we would not be able to burn or combine with oxygen any carbon based fuel. This would include wood (includes charcoal and wood products), coal, oil (includes plasitc, wax, and any oil product) and natural gas. We would also have to stop eating carbon based foods. We intake carbohydrates convert that to energy to live and expel the CO2 thereby produced through a process we call breathing. Not to mention the methane we expell from other areas of the body. Oh dear... we need to stop creamating our bodies too... and oops, I guess just the eventual decay of an embalmed body actually releases greenhouse gasses too... we need to stop dying !

Have a great new year
Steve

[sblocker130]

well seve i think the idea with anything is not to get carried away i agree with you on that one but the ice is outdated and we as a whole need to move on
sorry little off topic but relevant