4 ms·
Why doesn't it just lift a single extremely large block when electricity surges and then very slowly drops it back down to generate electricity (no need for com
by jondubois 8y ago
Why doesn't it just lift a single extremely large block when electricity surges and then very slowly drops it back down to generate electricity (no need for complex hook-and-release)? The maximum capacity would be determined by the maximum height of the tower along which the block is lifted.
Or why doesn't it just have many medium motors; each permanently attached to a single medium-sized block? Why should the relationships between motors and blocks be one-to-many?
Lots of small concrete blocks, a camera and a hook to latch onto them one at a time sounds overly complicated and error-prone - Not to mention how much precious time would be wasted getting the hook through the holes and then coordinating the lifting so that each block ends up stacked nicely.
- mrtksn 8y agoMaybe the materials can't withstand such extreme forces? After all, the same logic would apply to any system that stores mechanical energy. Can you, for example, make a mechanical watch by compressing liquid instead of a spring?
- canam 8y agoOr maybe one block per house. Solar raises it though the day, generates electricity at night as it lowers. No grid required.
- jondubois 8y agoNice, that sounds even better.
- PeterisP 8y agoThe obvious answer is expense; the motor-generator part is the expensive part of the system (both in building and in maintenance) so you don't want a larger motor if a smaller will do, and you don't want more motors if fewer one will do. For such a system, time isn't precious, hardware is.