3 ms·
400 milliwatts per square meter? That's interesting that they can do it at all, but that level is completely impractical for real use.
by AnimalMuppet 11mo ago
400 milliwatts per square meter? That's interesting that they can do it at all, but that level is completely impractical for real use.
- aetherspawn 11mo ago> the generation of >400 milliwatts per square meter of mechanical power with a potential for >6 watts per square meter. Keep in mind the power is fully mechanical so no electricity or control circuit is required. And based on the simplicity it seems like a good candidate to power something that you need to last 100 years with no maintenance for example.
- abeppu 11mo agoI think the "last 100 years with no maintenance" is not likely feasible with this approach. The top plate has a coating that supports high infrared emissivity -- and I think it would need to be regularly cleaned to work well. And you can't really prevent it from getting dirty by enclosing it b/c that both substantially changes the performance and moves the maintenance burden to cleaning the enclosure.
- AnimalMuppet 11mo agoMechanical things don't usually work for 100 years with no maintenance. Bearings run dry, if nothing else.
- ufocia 11mo agoAir bearings always run dry without problems.
- contingencies 11mo agoUntil they are replaced with dust, pollution, hair, animals, leaf litter, aggressive plants, seismic events, pollen, skin particles, birdshit, fallen logs, slime mold, etc.
- yetihehe 11mo agoAir bearings run dry until they get some moisture. Then they fail. Old joke about making radio enclosures: make it as watertight as possible, then drill a small hole on the bottom to let the water escape.
- IAmBroom 11mo agoNo moving parts in open water last without maintenance. Life, uh, finds a way.
- foxglacier 11mo agoSo what? It's research, not business. Surely you didn't expect they'd found a practical source of free energy that was ready to compete with solar but somehow nobody else bothered to try before?
- nrhrjrjrjtntbt 11mo agoIt is interesting to know if it has potential (pun intended) for some use. Even if that is some very niche thing.
- 15155 11mo agoThis is plenty of power to run a microcontroller and a radio (sporadically) with an energy-harvesting setup.