Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak called for “outside-the-box” thinking at a meeting of the American Wind Energy Association — way outside the box.
According to Climatewire, Wozniak said,
Maybe somebody has an idea for instead of a rotator that moves, a moving-part one, has an idea for just a fence on the side of a house that somehow manages to collect the energy… maybe no moving parts at all, figures out how the wind can pull electrons off of one material and pop them onto the next. [Emphasis added]
Maybe Wozniak’s next speaking gig will be at the Magical Energy Association.
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That’s why Edison is a household name and a long-term success while Tesla died penniless despite being the much smarter of the two.
Ask Steve to calculate how much electricity would actually be generated if 100% of the average wind speed was hitting a fence the length of a typical fence around a house in the Bay Area.
One small problem that Tesla had was the inductive kickback to his power plant that actually tore the generator from its mounting bracket and rolled it around. Though this did have the good effect of proving to Tesla that imaginary numbers were a valid part of electrical equations.
The real reason we don’t use Tesla’s tower, is that the energy losses are enormous, and all the receivers in an area would have to be tuned to receive the appropriate amount of energy. On top of that, how would you meter how much energy people are using? Tesla needed to be working for a businessman who would have kept him focused.
This probably deserves more money invested in its development than windmills!!
http://www.junkworthknowing.com/technology/nicola_teslas_wardenclyffe_tower
No fair using materials that cost over $100 per ounce. Though it is better than my thermal idea
We can already do that. We can make a fence that statically changes the pressure changes (and sounds) from wind into electricity. The problem is that it is not economically feasible to build a fence from such material. If there were a breakthrough in building piezo-electric material, where it became easy and cheap to create it, then the fence idea would be feasible. It isn’t just having the idea, it is making the idea work while watching a bottom-line on an expense sheet.
However, if anyone from the government wants to throw money my way, I’d be happy to work on this idea.
“Break throughs” are great but need to be pursued by “mad scientists” on THEIR dime…not the taxpayers! Why? Well lots of reasons. For one, “necessity is the mother of invention”. If you have the government handing out millions/billions in “loans” to these clowns/inventors/scientists then they have no real “neceessity” to innovate….just more parasites on the public dole. Does not work…has never worked. Free market DOES work (re innovative “break through products/inventions)!
Wozniak’s is a god among geeks. However, it seems on occasion that the gods must be crazy.
Oddly, the thermal fence idea would work. However, it would have to have a heat transfer engine and a dedicated cold side, so it’s not practical in any way and might give slightly more voltage than a potato.
Magical fantasy is fine… if it’s directed properly. As an example of magical fantasy misdirected, consider that Steve Jobs, who had the 5% of pancreatic cancers that are highly curable, took the magical route- ‘cleansed’ his colon with fasts, did acupuncture and then because he waited too long, got metastatic ca disease and later died.
End magical fantasy trip. Enter reality.