Posted on 06/26/2008 9:00:19 AM PDT by rface
How much electrical energy could be converted from this rain energy?.......
So I look out the window and I see all kinds of energy being wasted. Each little raindrop splatting on the ground is a potential source of perfect green energy. Why hasn’t some enterprising nerd figured this out?
Perhaps somebody here could do some calculations:
Here’s some assumptions I might make…….
1) Each raindrop weighs 0.1 grams
2) Raindrops have a terminal velocity of 5 meters a second.
3) Let’s say that 1 sq. meter is hit by raindrops 100 times a second for an hour.
These are assumptions that I just guess at from a quick observation – so they might not be very accurate.
QUESTION: How much electrical energy could be converted from this rain energy?
(kinetic energy => electrical energy)
TITLE screwed up: ELECTRICAL.... (damn!)
You could let the water flow into a stream, then into a creek, then into a river, and then dam the river and install a turbine.
Stick to your day job.
You might be able to turn a very small turbine using the rain coming out of your downspouts, though.
Put a mini-waterwheel in every downspout?
How much energy? Much if your collector is about six square miles.
Oh, the power wasted from the friction of my shoes....
Following your calculations and logic, taking a dump should be a real powerhouse of electrical generation-—time to get on the throne and bear down!
Why bother with rain drop energy when you can have unlimited power by using gerbils and gerbil wheels?
There’s a lot more energy in the charge separation caused by thunderstorms.
Look at all the lightning.
Capturing that energy is a significant engineering problem, however.
ENERGY = 1 milliJoule per drop.
POWER = 0.1 Watt per square meter.
There ya go. Like a little hamster wheel. Then wire up the gutters. Bet it’d work great at Christmas.
You have an interesting idea. I have often wondered how much “free” energy surrounds us in the form of wind, ocean waves, sunlight, etc.
I think it would be difficult to harness alot of energy from rain. If you set up sort of large panel with lots of mini pinwheels, you would be able to convert some of the kinetic energy of each raindrop into electrical energy. But rain doesn’t last for very long, maybe a few hours continuously. It would be a better idea to think of an energy source that is always or very frequently available.
At high elevations, there is usually always wind. In the ocean, there are usually always waves. If you are near a river, there is usually always a constant flow of water. Sunlight in some form is available for half the day.
about 37% of the worlds energy needs could be obtained if only we could harness leftist/globull-alamist verbal spewage bouncing on and then off heads and ears. An added bonus if we could also harness these wackos video’s and pictures, as the resultant photons reflect off our eyes.
Let the water fall on your grass. Wait until fall, cut the grass down and feed it into a boiler to run a steam turbine.
For about $50,000 you could power your house for a few weeks a year.
I ate Taco Bell last night - tonight, I'll be eating a lot of fiber. I'm holding back right now, but tomorrow, I'm going off the grid! :)
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