Re: Solar breakthrough - when?

From: Tkalbfus1 (tkalbfus1_at_aol.com)
Date: 08/19/04 

Date: 19 Aug 2004 19:15:29 GMT

>Carnot certainly does not think so.
>A low delta T GUARANTEES inefficiency and a total lack of cost
>effectiveness.
>
>--
>Many thanks,
>
>Don Lancaster

You can make up for this by increasing efficiency in construction technology.
If you can build very large plants using automation and robotics and alot of
them, then the power plants can be allowed to be very massive so long as they
are simple and easy to maintain. A hydroelectric dam is very massive as well.
All that's needed is to generate sufficient flow of ammonia vapors so as to
turn the blades of the turbine, the rest of the plant is mostly pipes through
which the ammonia circulates. If you need alot of pipes that's fine, the
expensive part, the part that needs to be replaced and maintained is the
turbine generator, that part is a small fraction of the total mass of the
plant. These turbines are of the same sort as are used in a steam turbine
generator, there is no difference between the two as far as the efficiency of
the turbines are concerned. An OTEC plant doesn't need to be light and
portable, once it is built it will stay in one place. As for a low delta T,
there is a low delta T between the poles and the equator of the Earth, yet that
same Delta T is sufficient to generate winds and cause hurricanes capable of
enourmous destruction. There is lots of energy potential in the Earth's oceans,
to fail to utilize it is a waste. Its even a greater waste to burn fossil fuels
at a great rate than which nature replaces them, which we are doing now. All
the oil, coal and natural gas were originally created by biological processes
using sunlight and taking their substance from the atmosphere. The best sort of
energy system is one that creates chemical energy from a primary energy source
such as fusion or nuclear reactions and from the atmosphere produces fuels that
can be used to power vehicles that require high power to mass ratios. An OTEC's
mass is really not very important, an OTEC just sits there and generates power,
they are not part of a vehicle. A chemical fuel should be used where its
impracticable to use a primary energy source. Pumping chemicals from the ground
and using it to power a stationary power plant is a waste, it slowly uses up
stored chemical resources and alters the atmosphere such as producing
greenhouse gases at a rate faster than biology can remove them. This is the
difference between earning a living and simply living off your savings account.
Eventually your savings account will be exhausted. In the best of all worlds we
would be producing our own chemical energy rather than mining it out of the
ground.

Tom

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