What if we made a boat with a pipe in the middle going upwards and then downwards again splashing into the sea. Then added a lot of weight to the
boat. The weight could press the boat downwards but the water would actually go into the pipe. And the boat would be trying to sink but it couldn't
because the water is being pushed upwards and then again downwards.
Would this acrually work?DraconicAcid - 6-11-2013 at 15:32
The level of water inside of the pipe would be the same as the level of the water outside the boat.WGTR - 6-11-2013 at 15:34
The water outside the boat and inside the pipe would be at the same height,
as far as I can figure.Random - 6-11-2013 at 15:36
So it wouldn't work. What about actually making the ball sink and having a motor in the middle with a hole to make water go through then filling it
with air at the bottom and it would again go upwards, release air, sink fill with air and go upwards.Random - 6-11-2013 at 15:39
Also another idea would be using a closed container with only pipe and water and weight, that way water would became pressurized and go upwards, then
a small hole in the pressuized container would be opened and closed to regulate pressure. It would allow bursts of energy like a motor fueled by gas.
From upwards water would go downwards generating electricity, using some electricity to open the hole to pressurized container. Releasing pressure,
then again usi g weight at the above to make pressure after hole closes.
[Edited on 6-11-2013 by Random]plante1999 - 6-11-2013 at 15:41
You cannot use gravity alone to make energy, I believe it is covered in any thermodynamic course.Random - 6-11-2013 at 15:45
Explains everythingphlogiston - 7-11-2013 at 06:35
If, in contrast, you are interested in ways to generate electricity from waves in a large body of water, that is quite possibly. Several technologies
have been tested to do this.
In that case, perhaps you should change the title.
I believe gravity is routinely used to generate electricity in hydroelectric dams... well at least harnessing the change in potential energy from
elevated water to a lower river.
Exactly - the ultimate source of hydroelectric power is gravity, as water flows downhill. I believe wave power comes about from wind creating waves,
meaning the sun would be the ultimate source in that case (sun heats the earth unevenly, wind develops from high to low pressure areas to even it
out). Tidal power, in contrast, would be provided by gravity (gravitational pull of the moon causes tides).
As for the OP's questions, I'm having a very hard time visualizing what you describe, and you seem to be talking about several very different ideas.
Drawings would be helpful.
Edit: After reading Random's link, I should modify my post above. Gravity isn't really the source of hydroelectric energy: this type of power
is extracted from water moving downhill. It got up the hill in the first place by being evaporated by heat from the sun, and rained down on higher
elevations. So ultimately the source of the energy is the sun. Thanks for the link, that was a very interesting read.
[Edited on 11-7-2013 by MrHomeScientist]Crowfjord - 7-11-2013 at 20:22
When you think about it, the sun (and other stars) can be seen as the ultimate source of all energy on Earth. Elements are formed in stars (nuclear
energy and chemical energy), the gravity of the sun brought about the coalescence of matter to form the planet, which has its own gravity. The heat in
the mantle/core is residual heat from solar system formation and gravity compression of the Earth (IIRC). Then there is the light and get energy
itself, which can be harvested by us by various means, including the chemical energy we (and all living things) use to live; plants and bacteria use
light energy to synthesize food and other biochemicals. We and other animals eat the plants or bacteria for bio-energy, or we burn them for other
uses. And so on...deltaH - 8-11-2013 at 02:10
Which is why I changed mine to 'used'. Gravity is merely the means to bring about the change, the energy was 'stored' in the elevated water and came
initially from the sun in fact--heating from sun evaporated water that formed the clouds that transported water from lower or sea level to rain down
in catchment areas and ultimately flow to the dam which flows back to the sea... it's a giant solar engine. See... we've been using solar all along
[Edited on 8-11-2013 by deltaH]IrC - 9-11-2013 at 00:00
I hereby propose this axiom. Whenever free energy inventors start adding magnets to their designs it's all down hill from there. Or something like
that.
