Wind Turbines, Photovoltaics, Steam

The_Bad_Seed

Just curious if anybody in the JW.com community have hobbies in, or are interested in renewable energy technologies, steam engines, or otherwise...

Thats where my interest lies, would love to chat with an 'apostolic' like mind about the subject.

As IF we're ever getting off of oil. You know just as well as I do that the world will still be running almost exclusively on oil the day it runs out. There's too much already invested in it, it's too widely available, there's too many counties who exist as something more than wild mobs because of it alone.

(Myself, I'm pro-nuclear, but happy to consider anything other than oil. I mean, for the sake of the gods, we are sitting here in the 21st century with the whole world relying on energy production methods CENTURIES old.)

Crazy151drinker

Here is a cool link......

http://www.janes.com/aerospace/civil/news/jdw/jdw020729_1_n.shtml

SYN

A touchy subject, and yes, Xander is very right.

Without this gift of cheap, incredibly powerful oil, our society wouldn't be where it is today. And when it runs out (which is quite inevitable at the rate we're gobbling it up and converting it into gas), the fit is going to hit the shan.

Incense_and_Peppermints

the way i see it, todays photovoltaic modules are extremely safe and reliable products, with minimal failure rates and projected service lifetimes of 20 to 30 years. most major manufacturers offer warranties of twenty or more years for maintaining a high percentage of initial rated power output. when selecting pv modules, look for the product listing (ul), qualification testing and warranty information in the module manufacturers specifications. simply put, pv systems are like any other electrical power generating systems, just the equipment used is different than that used for conventional electromechanical generating systems. however, the principles of operation and interfacing with other electrical systems remain the same, and are guided by a well-established body of electrical codes and standards. although a pv array produces power when exposed to sunlight, a number of other components are required to properly conduct, control, convert, distribute, and store the energy produced by the array. here, let me show you a basic diagram of a photovoltaic system and the relationship of individual components:

(actually, i swiped that off a web site, heh. i don't know what any of that stuff is, but it sounds incredibly exciting.... NOT )

metatron

I'm interested in free energy theories. This isn't as nuts as
it first sounds - physics is talking seriously about zero point
energy all around us.

There are some gadgets that use cavitation which appear to produce
more energy out than in.

metatron

BeautifulGarbage

I don't have any particular interest in wind turbines, but I can see hundreds of them from the view in my window. I live in a high wind area. They started putting them in about 20 years ago. Our local electric company buys the power from the farms that operate them.

There was quite a stir when the first few were "installed". They do spoil the landscape, IMO, but they are also a tourist attraction.

They were also featured in the film Rain Man with Tom Cruise.

Andee

Hmmm

I'm interested in free sources of energy, but the local power company frowned upon my jumper cables running from their pole.

Hmmm

Xander

There are some gadgets that use cavitation which appear to produce more energy out than in.

Strictly speaking, that's impossible, of course. But the concept of energy production methods that generate energy 'out' without requiring anything difficult to find 'in' are valid. (Examples include wind and solar power - they most certainly DO require energy 'in' - in the form of solar radiation or atmospheric pressure changes - but that energy is present ANYWAY, so why not use it?)

In any case, there is no reason we still need to be using gasoline vs pure alcohol engines at the VERY least. Grain alcohol is cheap, it gives our farmers a reason to exist (ever more important is domestic farming keeps becoming harder and harder to maintain profitability), and the technology to make it possible - engines capable of running at much higher temperatures - is already available.

There are several other advantages - their is no real need to change much of the existing distribution channels - alcohol is a fluid that can easily be pumped through pipelines, carried by trucks, and stored in 'gas stations'. Most modern engines can already run on it - to make it mainstream, a lot of improvements WOULD have to be made....but it is a PRACTICAL and FAIRLY EASY to implement solution.

And that, right there, would chop off 40% of the US's petroleum usage.

truthseeker1

My idea is to harness the power of tides/waves. Probably a hazard to marine life, but have generators on teh bottom of the ocean that have cables going up from the to bouys (sp?) on the surface. The waves pull the bouys(sp?) up, spinning a turbine generating power. Works all the time, and no harmful emmissions.

Wind Turbines, Photovoltaics, Steam

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