5 ms·
Seems pretty cool, but can someone explain the advantages over a battery? Also why is there so little light in the article photos?
by nopassrecover 14y ago
Seems pretty cool, but can someone explain the advantages over a battery? Also why is there so little light in the article photos?
- asciilifeform 14y agoThe advantage, of course, is that a Beautiful Female Inventor (TM) is pushing it. And therefore you should invest immediately. Or something like that. In all seriousness, compressed air is a simply dreadful way to store energy. The necessity of an adiabatic cycle (store the heat from compression to use during expansion), for one thing. Tank rupture, for another.
- JoeAltmaier 14y agoEnergy systems everywhere have to deal with large energy densities and risk. A transformer explosion or substation short are dramatic and dangerous as well - yet we deploy them throughout the nation (even in your neighborhood). The adiabatic cycle management is the principle point in the article; their solution reportedly drives efficiency to 70%.
- rdl 14y agoI'd be interested in knowing the advantages (for stationary power storage) vs. pumping water. With water pumping, you do need convenient access to huge amounts of water, and evaporation is a problem, but pumps are pretty efficient.
- asciilifeform 14y agoWhat would be the compressed air equivalent of a fuse? Without fuses, the electric grid as we know it would be quite impossible.
- beagle3 14y agoLongevity is a mechanical problem, rather than a chemical problem (as it is in batteries). A-priori, this is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage - it is just different. But it is likely that these could live longer and be perfectly recyclable (and with no toxic materials at all). Modern batteries are a marvel of chemistry, but they have made little progress in density in the last decades (and a lot of that progress relies on rare earth materials). There are many competitors for energy storage now, among them water fuel cells, aluminum and ultra capacitors. If these guys succeed, pressurized air will join this list as well.
- DaniFong 14y agoSome data points: air compressors last in the field for 30 years, and tanks as long or longer. We anticipate that, having overcome the corrosion difficulty, an even longer lifetime should be achievable. We have vastly reduced thermal stresses.
- beagle3 14y ago> We anticipate that, having overcome the corrosion difficulty Given that it's essentially a closed system of (quality verifiable) air and water, where is the corrosion coming from? and how did you guys address that?
- DaniFong 14y agoSome things are proprietary but there was no magic involved.
- DaniFong 14y agoI promise the LightSail offices (a former chocolate factory) are much more well lit than the article makes out. However, the editors thought it would be more dramatic -- and steam punkish. :-)
- hef19898 14y agoWeel lit or not, damn nice office space you have. I'm jealous. Ah, and before I forget: All the best for the future, i'm convinced you're up to something. Really hope it works commercialy. And damn impressive to go to college aged 12 and drop out of grad-school aged 22! :-)
- rdl 14y agoIs it the old Scharffenberger factory?
- DaniFong 14y agoYes