build HUGE stirlings in africa?

[kallstrom_74]

would it not be possible to build huge stirling engines (like b?hms tiny engines) ..instead of gas power them, use a solar collector and a magnifying lens to make the heat...and use them to pump water from wells and perhaps the ocean..pump the water into pipelines...would'nt it be possible? i mean ..cant it be buildt?

[JamesThomas]

Good idea, Kallstrom. So good in fact that it's already being done. Not in Africa yet as far as I know, but Southern California has agreed to purchase 20,000+ solar-mirror/Stirling arrays to develop electricity. No reason smaller numbers of units could not be used in Africa to make the power needed to desalinate and pump water...or whatever.

Perhaps you are the one who will start a nonprofit and see that it gets done, and done properly.

http://stirlingenergy.com/


j

[kallstrom_74]

yes i would love to start a fundraising or something to get things going (that would be a dream) anyone interested?

[JamesThomas]

yes i would love to start a fundraising or something to get things going (that would be a dream) anyone interested?

I image most all worthy endeavors first start as a dream. Here may be a good place to start:
http://www.managementhelp.org/strt_org/strt_np/strt_np.htm

This is only one of many helpful sites.

Good luck to you, Kallstrom.

j

[armagdn03]

This is only one of tons of ideas that are being tested and implemented throughout the world, for instance in Italy they are building bouyant walls underwater that are on a hinge. (so you can imagine them "tied" to the ground with the hinge, and they stand upright because they want to float up) Since they are free to move, they saway to and fro  with the wave energy and in turn drive generators. It has also been calculated that with a 100 square mile plot of land in death valley would create enough juice to power the entire united states. Think about that, 100 square miles is only at 10 mile by 10 mile plot of land, TINY compared to how much is availible!.

Its almost funny to think that we are all sitting here trying to come up with prepetual motion machines......which we all agree are not prapetual motion machines, rather they tap into a previously "unknown" field. All the while, we already have "free" energy machines availible that tap into a known field....the sun. This technology encompases, waves (with the exception of tidal energy sources, which could be atributed to the moon) Wind generators, hydroelectric, thermal and im sure there are more. Our sun is basically our gift for free energy, and we have the technology to harness it quite easily.

But the others will all say what abouy at night? Cloudy days? Solar eclipses? Well unfortunately we have pretty sh*tty storage technology in terms of rechargable batteries, so we rely on instant power generation like gasoline. If someone were to create a free energy device that was able to generate 1kw, and fit in a backpack, it would be one of the greatest inventions ever! Or.....If someone could create a battery that could hold 15 KWh woth of power, and recharge in 5 minutes, it would be one of the greatest inventions ever!

There are many paths to choose, I simply like the thrill of the seach for zero point energy, and I dont do alot of ameture chemistry or delve into nano technology enough to make a sweet battery.

Keep up the good work though