Michael Stuart Kelly Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Getting Closer to Galt's MotorCheck this out. It's not perpetual motion, but getting awfully close to how Rand described Galt's motor.New invention 'harvests' electricity from background radiation and could be used to beam power to remote locations or recharge phones wirelessly8 November 2013The GuardianFrom the article:Engineers at Duke University have designed a breakthrough gadget that 'harvests' background microwave radiation and converts it into electricity, with the same efficiency as solar panels.The development, unveiled on Thursday, raises exciting possibilities such as recharging a phone wirelessly and providing power to remote locations that can't access conventional electricity.And the researchers say that their inexpensive invention is remarkably versatile. It could be used to capture 'lost' energy from a range of sources such as satellite transmissions, sound signals or Wi-Fi. Like any new technology, this will inevitably be improved over time. Concept-wise, it is very appealing--and Randish... Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caroljane Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 Engineers working together at a governmentfunded academic institution? They will have to call it Galts' motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 Carol,Obviously it was government money and not brains that invented this thing...I mean, who needs brains to invent anything?Just make sure the government is paying.Dayaamm! Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaalChatzaf Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Galt's motor contradicts the second law of thermodynamics. In addition to which one cannot get a steady current from a capacitor for any significant length of time. Capacitor's are shitty batteries. Look again. Amplifying microwave transmission produces very little current at very little power. Great for charging cell phones maybe but not great for lighting your house or powering the motors of a factory. To get any significant juice one would need a very large power source (how about the Sun?).A satellite in orbit can transform sunlight (not necessarily in the visible range) into microwaves and beam down a very tight microwave beam with a lot of energy to a receiver on the ground which could transform the energy into usable current. Now that is something that can be done. Unfortunately it hasn't been done yet. Ba'al Chatzaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jts Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Capacitor's are shitty batteries. True. When I was a a kid in the 1960s, I used to play with those things. They had enough energy in them to run a toy electric motor for about 5 or 10 seconds.But I was reading somewhere about a new kind of capacitor, using nanotechnology. It's on the drawing board now, it didn't yet hit the market. It's supposed to have about a hundred times the storage capacity of a NiCad or NimH.It might still be a shitty battery. What about the possibility of an internal short? Maybe it would work better as a bomb than as a battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 OK let's talk serious marketing...is it enough power to run sex toys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 Or maybe the technology of this thing will improve so much it will power drones for nonstop flyovers...Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaalChatzaf Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Or maybe the technology of this thing will improve so much it will power drones for nonstop flyovers... MichaelWe already have solar powered U.A.V.s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek McGowan Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 We had a discussion about future technologies that could "beam" power wirelessly and the main thing we kept getting hung up on was the possibly harm to an individual who steps into the line of sight. If there is enough power to power a home then I would assume that stepping into the path would fry someone. If the power is not directed but is simply radiated out in all directions then that would prove to be wasteful I think. Keep in mind though that I am incredibly optimistic about human's figuring ways around such problems and I look forward to an era without the wires Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaalChatzaf Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Do you die when you step into a cellphone microwave call beam?Ba'al Chatzaf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selene Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Do you die when you step into a cellphone microwave call beam?Ba'al ChatzafI actually disassemble and let it through... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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