3 ms·

Thanks! Sorry, I don't know of any good hurricane visualizations, but I'm sure there must be some online. The air in the eye is sinking colder air, which is c

Thanks! Sorry, I don't know of any good hurricane visualizations, but I'm sure there must be some online. The air in the eye is sinking colder air, which is clear because sinking colder air does not create any clouds or precipitation. It is basically where the air goes that gets displaced by the rising warm air that makes the clouds and rain. Not sure what else to say about my project. If it goes well, I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say. If you have any questions, I'll see if I can answer them.

bilsbie 3y ago
So it’s basically an alternative to a sterling engine? I wonder if you could use it as a heat pump too.
- FiatLuxDave 3y ago
  No, not at all. It's more like a wind turbine that runs in a constant wind generated by the evaporation/recondensation process. More water is evaporated than condensed so that the entropy balance is always positive. It sucks in heat locally and converts some to work and sends the rest to the upper atmosphere. You can think of it as a form of solar energy that doesn't need the sun to be shining at the time or place that the engine is running, as long as the sun keeps the troposphere warm. It can incorporate a heat pump (or an equivalent phase change cycle in some alternate designs) to increase specific power, but it is definitely a heat engine, not a heat pump. Running it backwards to make it like a heat pump would be wicked hard, and besides, no one wants to try to pump heat out of the upper atmosphere.