So here's a new concept: make a balloon, put a fan on the outside and a turbine on the inside, raise it to 1000 ft. elevation (where the wind never stops blowing), and use it to avoid paying for electricity ever again.
Sound simple? Well it's not that simple.
This contraption, invented by Fred Furgeson (you can google him at the lower-left side of this page:), the Magenn Power Air Rotor System's (MARS') turbine will rotate at whatever speed the wind may push it. It plays by it's own rules! Anywho, that means between 2 and 28 meters-per-second. Held up by helium and the Sky Captainesque shape, the structure is held tightly to the earth by a copper tether that is attached to two generators on both front and back. Also the spinning motion gives the MARS perpetual lift and helps it maintain it's rightful place directly (almost) above it's grounded point of origin (there's gotta be a better way to say that).
Now this sounds super and all, but keep in mind that the MARS is the size of a small house. It will be easier to maintain than other forms of electrical harvest (wind farms and whatnot), and helium leaks are only at half a percent in the structure. This seems like a fantastic idea now, but I'll bet by 2010 we'll be seeing Martin Lawrence or some other B-actor (yeah, I said it) promoting this on late-night infomercials for 5 easy payments of $19.95.
I wonder if you can apply the same technique to water and set one of these puppies up in the middle of the East Australian Current. Probably not, but that gives me an idea for a screenplay...
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3 comments:
I think an underwater version in the East Australian Current would end you up with a current full of sliced and diced fish chunks.
So yes, it would work but only if you had a floating processing plant right downstream to collect the chum and form it into fish sticks, patties and nuggets. :)
Hmm, that's interesting. I wonder how much power that actually generates compared to a windmill.
gorillasushi - Haha, I never thought of that. I need to be more environment conscious. But, then again, that could be a new source for the fishing industry.
big pappa - The New York Times article said it generated 10 kilowatts, but I don't know if that means kilowatt-hours.
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