Magnetic Generators? Green Energy?

[burntheland]

Well, I don't necessary believe there is such funding for such a project in our country. I mean it would be a great idea, but we would loose millions and millions of dollars.

And about it being imperially being proven to NOT work...well I cant say I know for sure how many people have actually tried using the concepts I intend to work with. All be it they're all about the same. But that's like concluding that the very first five combustion engines ever made worked without a hitch simply because they're widely prevalent today. Maybe I'm having trouble describing the premise on how I feel it should work, or why I feel it should work....either way I'm not nor have I ever said that it WILL work.

And I understand the *basic principals of science I thank you very much. And the method stays the same. Perhapse Henery Ford would have never tried his hand in the automotive industry if the work of Francois Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland would not have panned out. There are plenty of good reasons to repeat the steps. If for nothing when all the hair on my testicles is grey I can at least say with confidence that it doesn't work. And more so I am always proud to say I tried. Because success is never as sweet without the bitter comparison of failure.

and yeah....idk about the revelations. lol
who knows though man, maybe the beast is the guy down the street cooking meth and giving it to kids? Maybe he's the rapist in the alley? But i do know this....the bible would make one helluva' movie! lol, all that fire and brimstone with today's special effects. it would be awesome!

[x88x]

Perhapse Henery Ford would have never tried his hand in the automotive industry if the work of Francois Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland would not have panned out.

Rivaz was far from the first or the last to invent an internal combustion engine, and all Henry Ford did for the automotive industry was figure out a way to put everything together cheaply. Not to discount the importance of that, but he wasn't the first to create an assembly line either. Also, neither the ICE nor the assembly line violated basic scientific principles when they were created...just saying, maybe not the best analogy.

There are plenty of good reasons to repeat the steps. If for nothing when all the hair on my testicles is grey I can at least say with confidence that it doesn't work. And more so I am always proud to say I tried. Because success is never as sweet without the bitter comparison of failure.

If you learn from every failure, they are not failures, merely steps toward the truth.

In the words of Samuel Beckett:
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."

[dr.walrus]

In the words of Samuel Beckett:
"Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."

[x88x]

Hey, at least you can only go up from there.

[mDust]

And about it being imperially being proven to NOT work...well I cant say I know for sure how many people have actually tried using the concepts I intend to work with. All be it they're all about the same. But that's like concluding that the very first five combustion engines ever made worked without a hitch simply because they're widely prevalent today. Maybe I'm having trouble describing the premise on how I feel it should work, or why I feel it should work....either way I'm not nor have I ever said that it WILL work.

I think I understand what you're trying to say, because I was thinking something similar. There are a million and one ways of doing almost anything, 1,000,000 attempts might fail miserably, but there could always be that one guy that got it to work because he thought to do something that nobody else had done.

Even with modern engineering, the internal combustion engine runs around or below 10% efficiency. It's really just a poor design. There's no way to argue that it isn't. But it works and is cheap to produce, so we use it. New technologies to replace this inefficient workhorse have been in the design phase on and off again for many decades with little to show for it. Sure, we have electric motors, but they still can't replace combustion engines and usually they are paired together in cars. Wouldn't it be great if some "backwards" technology such as a magnetic generator were tinkered with by the guy that got it to work by skirting around the laws which were mistakenly thought to be holding it back? Who says it's really "something for nothing"? It might just appear that way because nobody ever took it seriously enough to examine the one phenomena that allowed it to work. I'm not saying it will or won't work, but thinking we know everything there is to know on any topic is reckless and should not be inferred from what we are taught.

As for that Stirling Engine link: wikipedia and videos of it in action: simple, powered by body heat, and one that sort of explains how it works. There's one in particular that I wanted to link...but I can't find it. I think I might have it bookmarked on my desktop PC. I'll see if I can't find that when I get home.

[x88x]

Hahaha, so, I was browsing through random XKCD pages today, and rediscovered this comic. I thought it was rather appropriate.

alt text:
I mean, what's more likely -- that I have uncovered fundamental flaws in this field that no one in it has ever thought about, or that I need to read a little more? Hint: it's the one that involves less work.


EDIT:
Oh, and it's not a Sterling engine, but mDust's post made me think of this project I saw a while back. Someone used a candle and heatsink to generate current with a Peltier cooler, and then used that current to drive an LED. Completely pointless, but fun...and it'll get more than a few "wtf?"s.
http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.c...pg?w=470&h=353

[dr.walrus]

Ok, Stirling engines, let's get some facts straight. To produce a lot of power from a small heat differential (atmospheric) you need a ludicrously large sterling engine. This requires a very large amount of metal (takes a lot of energy to produce) for very little power output. They work best when you, um, power them by burning something. Not great at all.

x88x - The peltier effect? A candle to power an LED?! Awesome but utterly, utterly wasteful.

A lot of the answer lies in better ways of using energy we're already producing, granted. This is better addressed by ideas like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_heat_pump

[x88x]

A candle to power an LED?! Awesome but utterly, utterly wasteful.

Haha, yup, that's the point.

[mDust]

I'm pretty sure this thread wasn't started with the intention of saving the planet. That's a little epic for TBCS...(...or is it?) This is a modding forum full of interesting projects that were mostly just a creative outlet for the modder.
That being said, don't start on the Stirling Engine! Geez! And actually, the power output of the Stirling Engine increases as the temperature difference increases. So, say it's winter here in Michigan and the ambient temperature is 10F. I then could take a parabolic mirror, like in the 3rd video I linked, and heat the cylinder up to 1200F. Concentrated solar energy creates enough of a temperature difference to allow a medium sized engine to turn a small generator quite easily. (Don't say it doesn't work because I've seen it done.) The only problem with this idea is, if there is a load on the engine, it won't start by itself and will have to be turned over like your car's engine. This is a real PITA if you don't have an electronic starter.

Unfortunately, I could not find a link to that video I was looking for. It was a Stirling Engine that was masterfully crafted into a work of art. It was really cool.

[SXRguyinMA]

wow. that was a lot of reading. and my brain hurts. on that note I'm taking the dog out and going to bed.

oh and BTW that failcat pic was effin hillarious