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Free Energy

  • #21
I don't think clouds will be an issue for solar power once panels become highly efficient. The problem we will have is storing the power, we need better batteries. Solar power should be able to give a surplus given a good day of sunlight. If we can store it efficiently, a few days of cloud cover shouldn't hinder power supplies. Maybe the answer is to use solar power to make hydrogen fuel from water and then somehow store that.
 
  • #22
There is lots of free energy for the taking. Turning off the AC and sweating yields free electricity, while turning down the heat and wearing a sweater yields free electricity/gas/oil every winter. We can get more free energy by building smaller houses and driving less. No new laws of physics are necessary.
 
  • #23
There is lots of free energy for the taking. Turning off the AC and sweating yields free electricity, while turning down the heat and wearing a sweater yields free electricity/gas/oil every winter. We can get more free energy by building smaller houses and driving less. No new laws of physics are necessary.

Uhhh wouldn't that just be less energy used?
 
  • #24
I think in the near future, we'll turn to solar energy. And i don't mean photo voltaic cells, i mean focusing the sun's rays on a Stirling engine to produce electricity. Fusion reactors in 50 years if we don't run into any snags

too funny.... I was playing with my Stirling engine earlier today, all you need is a 5f temp differential on some of the more efficient models..

it amazes my new students when they see an engine running with no obvious form of internal combustion or electric motors... I tell them its "FM" (freakin magic)

but IMHO it will be at the Quantum level, prob Quantum Chromodynamics where we will find our energy in the future

just don't ask me to explain it LOL, but there is no "creating" energy, all that will ever be is already out there... all we can hope to do is to efficiently convert it into useful forms without destroying ourselves in the process...

now my brain hurtz
Av
 
  • #26
Well storing is easy just electrylosis then the hydrogen is strored then used in a PEM. Or a new battery chemestry. We need to devolope long lassting non silicon solar cells since currently the only ones have crappy life.
 
  • #28
The problem is, if you think our government is going to invest in Renewable energy, i think its hard for them to. with so much money to be made in Oil and Other non renewable fuels.

Heck bush used to try to start oil companies. But they failed, and he turned to politics.

But yea the problem is with storing the energy. We have plenty of Renewable sources, we just need to find a way to store them better.
 
  • #29
The problem is, if you think our government is going to invest in Renewable energy, i think its hard for them to. with so much money to be made in Oil and Other non renewable fuels.

The problem is not necessarily the gov't, it's the fact that our energy is controlled by capitalists who have too much to gain from oil and so much to lose from renewable energies.

The role the gov't should take is leading the way to renewable energies is putting a cap or establishing a time line (10 years from now?) that oil will no longer be imported or used. This would force current oil companies to invest into these new renewable resources and pave the way for an energy revolution. Until this happens, nothing will stop oil companies from just jacking up the price at the pump. Unless the gov't removes control of energy from the capital market and provides a monopolized gov't energy. Which then begs the question do we want the government in control of energy or money hungry energy companies? I don't know how you'd come up with the lesser of two evils there, but in matters of national security it would make more sense for the gov't to control energy.
 
  • #30
the bonds between they hydrogen and oxygen in water are very strong and would take more energy to dissolve than the breaking of the bonds would give off... I think i remember that from one of my first lab classes...
 
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