Moderator note: The posts in this thread by GodLied were originally distributed over about eight separate threads. Since they all deal with the same topic, I have put them together in this thread. <b>How many cases of soda are needed to jump-start a car?</b> Lights were accidentally left on in a vehicle with insulated copper wire rolls, wire cutters, wire strippers, and cases of soda in aluminum cans. The battery died. How many cases of soda are needed to jump start the vehicle's single 12-volt battery? JMG.
i don't think that soda can produce the reduction/oxidation half reactions needed. maybe gatorade, since it's an electrolyte? i'm probably wrong... it's been a while since i've had chemistry.
How about a potato? Maybe a lemon? I hope your car is not a lemon Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
you'd also need to reach a specified amperage. you can lump together 8 AA batteries and reach 12 Volts, but that will hardly do anything for a car.
insulated silver wires, beer If the liquid is changed to beer, and the wires are changed to silver while the cans are still aluminum, can the car battery be charged? JMG.
EHD Water Drop Converter High voltages are generated from water drops with an EHD water drop converter. Will such converters generate more power than conventional turbines? JMG.
Photoelectromagnetic converters When light falls on certain semiconductors in the presence of a magnetic field, electricity is generated. Cu_20 is one such semiconductor. Is it the best photoelectromagnetic converter? Can't power be increased by increasing the strength of the magnetic field in which the semiconductor is immersed? JMG.
Illuminating igloos The thermal difference between the inside and outside of an igloo allows inhabitants of the igloo to have Nernst Effect converters to generate night lights. Some of that energy can be applied to an Ettinghausen effect converter to warm up the igloo. Both converters might consist of the same parts; however, one operates in reverse relative to the other. JMG.
Pyroelectric converters, free energy enthusiasts Free energy enthusiasts can harness thermal energy at room temperature iff there is a pyroelectric converter which functions at room temperature. Pyroelectric converters become electrically polarized when heated. If you find one, let me know. JMG.
Squeeze power Piezoelectric converters compressed parallel to their polar axis become electrically polarized. So, as long as a heat sink is designed into the squisher to prevent heat damage to the converter, one can squeeze electricity out of axisymmetric crystals. This is not free energy because energy is used to squish the converter and energy is used to prevent heat damage to the converter. JMG.
...free energy This is similar to the thermoelectric effect, or the Peltier effect. These effects (thermoelectric/Peltier) result when two dissimilar metals (different work functions) are placed together and a voltage is applied to them - a temperature difference results. Alternatively, different voltages arise when the two coupled metals are exposed to different temperatures. The pyroelectric effect arises when, say, two faces of a pyroelectric crystal are exposed to different temperatures. When they are at the same temperature, you do not get a voltage. At room temperature, both faces are at the same temperature (or will eventually reach equilibrium), so it doesn't seem to be feasible to me. In addition, I think all pyroelectric crystals exhibit the piezoelectric effect more dominantly. This means that any voltage will first and foremost go into causing the crystal to strain. As most people are aware, the Peltier effect is not (by any means) an efficient way to cool anything (or heat anything, or generate a voltage). The same goes for Carnot engines (refrigerators), or any other thermodynamic vehicle. The three laws of thermodynamics can be interpretted as telling us: i) you can't win the game ii) you can't even tie the game iii) even worse, you can't get out of the game
Metals get hot in the presence of sunlight. Do all metals function as semiconductors for the purpose of photoelectromagnetic converters? No. JMG.
...no such thing as free energy Obviously, I was not implying that you can get energy for free, however, for future note, be aware that their IS such a thing as free energy... Gibb's free energy (that was a joke)
Help me bust the "2nd Law of Thermodynamics." Isn't the "2nd Law" of Thermodynamics, really just a general observation? Now if I had some "ideal string" why couldn't it be tied to each of the "random" motion molecules of air, and then they be swung into the same directions, to create a wind to drive a turbine, that would tap the heat energy of the air, and exhaust cooled air depleted of heat energy? (Conservation of energy requires that tapping heat energy must somehow cool the depleted energy air until nature warms it again.) Now if I could find some way to link that to a car radiator, there is enough heat energy in the air passing through the radiator, to power the car down the highway. How do I know? Because internal gasoline engines are only about 15% efficient, producing mechanical motion as a byproduct of heat production. Most of that heat goes straight to the radiator to be thrown away, having done no useful work. But the hotness of the radiator is small relative to the heat energy in the atmospheric air already, relative to absolute zero. If the air passing through the radiator, was cooled instead, and the heat energy tapped to power the car, only the 15% of energy really needed, would have to be tapped. So the radiator would not have to get as cold, as it presently gets hot. (Conservation of energy requires that tapping heat energy must somehow cool the depleted energy air until nature warms it again.) That puts the radiator within the realm of useful temperatures. But then of course, people want to drive their cars in any kind of weather. Even when it is freezing cold outside. No matter, there is still enough heat energy in the air that could be tapped. But the catch is one similar to that of your refrigerator. Running the refrigerator's refrigerant evaporator coil for too long, will cause it to ice up, impeding air flow. How was that problem solved? An automatic defrost cycle. So I figure let's divide the heat extractor (formerly called a "radiator") into 3 parts or so, and let one section "defrost" while other sections produce power. And of course shield rain from blowing into it where it might freeze up? Now if I could only find what disimilar metals or chemical layers, or whatever, might produce a voltage from absolute heat energy, rather than from temperature differentials, or some mechanical equivalent, no matter how crude, just to get the innovation process started toward later improvements, perhaps "thermal" batteries could even be made that instead of discharging, would only get a little cold and sweat (condensate), when someone cranks up their boombox too loud on thermal batteries. Perhaps we might finally have batteries that last a lifetime? And if that doesn't work, how about miniture hydrogen nuclear reactors? If the nuclear reactor fails, the force fields collapse, the great pressure disappates, and the hydrogen to helium reactor stops. Just remove the "nuclear" batteries and throw them away, and put some new ones in. Okay, so my nuclear powered flying car, can't renew its energy, but who cares? It's power cell would last just as long as the engine in our cars now, and still have almost "free" energy. Now if I could just borrow one of those anti-gravity emitters from the Jetson's cartoon, I could get rich selling my flying cars that never need gas! references: Futuristic Technologies_-__Home energy collectors for electricity? http://forums.delphiforums.com/innovate1/messages?msg=467.1 (Log in as a Guest, or create a free account to post in my forum poll.) 2nd Law of Thermodynamics http://www.secondlaw.com/
An EHD water drop converter is an energy converter that generates high potential differences from falling water drops. Essentialy start with a body of water. Two separate streams from the body of water are allowed to break up in to water drops. Pipes surround the water at the breakup points. Pipe from stream one is electrically connected to a screen under the other pipe and vice versa. Am off to bed. You may read about it in an engineering manual. JMG.
