What are the challenges in harvesting lightning strikes as a green energy source? It seems obvious that something that delivers a high concentration of electric energy could be used better than just draining straight to ground.
**************************************************** 08-22-02, 08:36 AM Pin~Jinx J7k,
the challenges would be * creating such a cotainer which could store this energy;
* finding a substance/metal/element which would not melt or fuse by such a surge of elctricity;
* it would take quite extensive research to figure out a location where it would be feasible to put such a plant.
These are some of the 'challenges' which come to my mind...
Pin~Jinx
08-22-02, 10:09 AM jc7k I don't have a deep enough grasp of physics to make a real proposal, but I think the following could be a naive implementation:
1. Use whatever material is used as lightning rods now 2. Stick it in a tank of water or some other fluid with preferably lower boiling point 3. Use steam from lightning evaporating the water via high burst of energy delivered through the lightning rod to drive steam turbine 4. Store energy from steam turbine using whatever conventional technology is used right now 5. Pay Jeff $1 meeeeeellion dollars
cool
08-22-02, 01:19 PM frankvan According to Dr. Greg Forbes, severe weather expert: Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment was one early attempt to harness the power of lightning. The idea was to catch and save electricity in an early type of battery. Today we know more about what doesn't work than what does when it comes to harvesting lightning. A kite with a key on the string is not a practical or safe method of capturing lightning's power, but Forbes said scientists have yet to determine what would be a practical method. "It is tough to get a single geographical spot that would be hit often enough to really generate electricity," said Forbes. "And each bolt is so short in duration, you'd need an awful lot of them to get a useful amount of energy. It's a neat experiment, but not realistic." http://www.weather.com/newscenter/atmospheres/feature/011701feature.html
08-22-02, 07:25 PM gatman Central Forida is the lightning capital of the world. We can have strikes on a clear day. I would think strikes could be encouraged but not really manufactured. I suspect the economics aren't there to support it.
08-22-02, 08:30 PM Bibc14 if i remember correctly, i saw on tlc or the discovery channel that there is a group of scientists who have gotten lightning to strike on command in a certain spot and time by sending a model rocket into the sky, i dont remember what exacly that did but i think that it may have had a wire grounding it to the earth, making the jump from sky to earth easier.
08-23-02, 02:07 PM gatman I remember the program you mention Bibc14. I think they were in the Arizona desert and conditions had to be somewhat cooperative. In central Florida they are ripe pretty near every day. The concept of diverting the strike into a pool and converting to heat, steam or electricity sounds plausable. Just have to keep clear of flight paths etc. and be able to make money with it.
08-23-02, 02:59 PM FlyingHellfish The Empire State Building gets struck quite often-I've heard that it got struck about 10 times during one thunderstorm.
09-04-02, 07:27 PM mahal Requirements for a lightening strike:
1) Difference of potential (meaning more negative or positive charge at one end)
2) A medium of travel (in this case, the air) so that the more positive or negative can reach out and touch the other side.
3) A current path through the medium (otherwise, the strike would have a random direction)
If you can handle the power bursts and get the lightening to strike in a very specific spot, it could be easy. An antenna can act as the collector, wire it to a storage capacitor (would probably be the size of a semi with a double trailer), the capacitor can slowly discharge into a network of batteries. You'd have to develop a shunt to ground excess power.
Would only work in Florida. (Did you know that some nutcase built an airport there with metal grates under the runways? That airfield, in the panhandle, and in the path of many tropical depressions, is the front-runner for lightening strikes in Florida!)
09-28-02, 07:27 AM Pin~Jinx Got your thinking Cap on yet???
So are you seriously planning to construct an Energy Generator in Central Florida???
Pin~Jinx /anarchist
11-24-02, 02:13 AM scubyfan that sounds like an ok idea.
you would need some sort of a capacitor, and certainly not one you can find on the market. hehe
you can also construct a giant one, using conductie metals that have a high melting point, possibly iron or some alloy.
hence, you could store the charge. and better yet, you can have it at your command, so you can dare someone to touch a certain piece of metal connected to it, and zapp!
haha, but i digress, how would you use this? with steam and turbines? would it be continues or in pulses?
This message has been edited. Last edited by: DorianGreyed,
