3 ms·

I dont get how the crane factors in to this unless you're suggesting that the extra energy could be stored as as gravitational potential energy, which probably

I dont get how the crane factors in to this unless you're suggesting that the extra energy could be stored as as gravitational potential energy, which probably doesn't fit the definition of "reasonable storage". I presume you'd get the energy back out of the system by dropping heavy things from the crane? A dubious proposal imho. I don't think there is a well-tested reliable way to harness energy from falling objects and convert it into some useful form.

johnday 7y ago
> I don't think there is a well-tested reliable way to harness energy from falling objects and convert it into some useful form. We do it with water. I'm not sure why the GP leapt to "crane" rather than "pump" but for sure we can achieve that. As for objects, a few designs spring to mind but they all seem less efficient than just pumping fluids.
nullsmack 7y ago
They're talking about this story: https://qz.com/1355672/stacking-concrete-blocks-is-a-surprisingly-efficient-way-to-store-energy/ https://qz.com/1355672/stacking-concrete-blocks-is-a-surpris...