The Vortex Engine
Posted by Big Gav
I think I've seen this around before - it sounds completely insane, but if we're going to build solar towers maybe these aren't that much more farfetched. As an added "bonus" if you have a bad accident while its on you may get to watch a hurricane devastate nearby towns.
Boing Boing reports:
Sean Ness, my co-worker at the Institute For The Future, is geared-up about a Canadian engineer's invention that spins synthetic tornadoes and harnesses their energy. Louis Michaud's machine is called an atmospheric vortex engine. He estimates that a 200 meter diameter engine could crank out 200 megawatts of power. From The Economist:This vortex would be produced inside a large cylindrical wall, 200 metres in diameter and 100 metres tall. Warm air at ground level enters via tangential inlets around the base of the wall. Steam is also injected to get the vortex started. Once established, the heat content of the air at ground level is enough to keep the vortex going. As the air rises, it expands and cools, and water vapour condenses, releasing even more heat. This is, in fact, what powers a hurricane, which can be thought of as a heat engine that takes in warm, humid air at its base, releases cold, watery air at the top of the troposphere, about 12 kilometres up, and liberates a vast amount of energy in the process. (Just as water requires heat to make it boil, it releases heat as it condenses back into a liquid.)
Mr Michaud's vortex would reach a similar height to that of a hurricane, but its base would remain stationary.
Sean says, "How'd you like it if your neighbor installed one in her backyard!?"
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