4 ms·
Yeah, I thought of it a few years ago, then realized I'd been scooped by ~40 years. But given the advances in technology maybe it's possible today?
by Metacelsus 3y ago
Yeah, I thought of it a few years ago, then realized I'd been scooped by ~40 years. But given the advances in technology maybe it's possible today?
- tinus_hn 3y agoTechnology will never advance enough to enable the perpetuum mobile device, which is what this is, unfortunately.
- hwillis 3y agoNo it isn't. This is just like putting a filter at the bottom of a dam, except the filter also blocks salt. The top of the dam is at sea level, so you have to bring the water back up to the surface.
- postalrat 3y agoWater without salt is less dense so that column of water would have less pressure at depth and would be pushed up.
- AnotherGoodName 3y agoAdding salt water is endothermic and separating them is exothermic fwiw. That is separating salt from water releases energy. There's nothing perpetual motion about a process that separates fresh water and salt and also gives energy. I'm not sure if the above works or not but physically there's no issue with this.
- gadilif 3y agoNot exactly, the pressure is an external force working on the system (so, open system). Perpetuum mobiles is a closed system with no energy loss.
- IshKebab 3y agoNo he's right, the idea of extracting work from the pressure of the ocean is as impossible as perpetual motion.
- quertered 3y agoIt is clearly not impossible, the paper clearly states that it's thermodynamically feasible, even if not practical at 1970s
- waveBidder 3y agowhere are we extracting the energy from? is it effectively geothermal power?
- MarkMarine 3y agoIt’s solar powered. Ok, I’m being brief but you seem genuinely curious, so, lemme explain what I mean: In thermo, you would draw a line around a closed system, and say basically conservation of energy applies in this system. Energy in = work out + losses. In a system where one input is the ocean, you basically just consider that infinite because of the size differences. One dinky little pipe compared to the mass flow into the system from the ocean, that math would be silly to bother with. That said, to swat down the stupid “this is perpetual motion” comments from people with Reddit engineering degrees, you also have to add in the energy input into the system of the sun, which is keeping the water from freezing over the course of 1 million years as it runs someone’s sarcastic water wheel.
- lazide 3y agoYour comment is literally word salad. Mind taking another pass?
- postalrat 3y agoSalt falling though gravity? It won't work after the upper layers of the ocean are depleted of their salt.