| audienceofone |
| (Verified CFHC User) |
| Thu Jun 21 2007 02:13 PM |
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Hurricane Experiments
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Does anyone know if there has ever been experimentation done with hurricanes along the lines of electricity generation? Looking at facts and figures about the shear destructive power of the winds associated with hurricanes and the fact that we've tried weakening them, despite possible environmental side effects, that maybe harnessing the energy associated with them would be good food for thought. I know it's not an easy problem and most equipment is destroyed in the most severe hurricanes, but we put a shuttle through the atmosphere, I'm sure someone could come up with something to try, at the very least. Maybe something like this has already been done? Thanks for sharing my curiosity.
| Valandil |
| (Verified CFHC User) |
| Thu Jun 21 2007 04:48 PM |
Re: Hurricane Experiments
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Well, in a hurricane a temperature gradient is changed into energy stored up in momentum (convection and subsequently circulation). In order to convert this energy into electrical energy you'd need to have some converter such as a windmill. The Problem with hurricanes is though that they don't appear on a regular basis in the same area and that they are strongest out at sea.
This means you'd need off-shore devices and If you don't want to cover the whole caribiansea you'd have to move them into the path of the storm.
It would make a lot more sense to use the temperature gradient which causes the storm rather than wait for a storm, and this way get rid of one energy conversion which would otherwise let you lose efficiency. This also has the advantage that it builds up in a regular pattern at a given position. But this not trivial either since we are talking about a gradient that spreads out over several kilometers in hight. But a lot more predictable and straigt forward than moving you equipment to the storm you'd like to adress.
Vala
| audienceofone |
| (Verified CFHC User) |
| Thu Jun 21 2007 05:12 PM |
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Re: Hurricane Experiments
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My main question was if anything like this had ever been done before, but I surely see what you're talking about. I guess my primitive thought was a mechanism that could be planted into the eye and extend into the eyewall where winds are the strongest. I have no real scientific basis for how this would work yet, but it was a fleeting thought I had today and so I just thought I'd see if anyone knew of any experiments that had been done or have any other ideas on how to possibly do it. I will continue to work out the science of my idea and see what ya'll think.