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I hate to defend the guy when he's set off my fraud detector alarms so much, but thermoelectric converters are what, less than 10% efficient? That wouldn't all

by crusso 13y ago

I hate to defend the guy when he's set off my fraud detector alarms so much, but thermoelectric converters are what, less than 10% efficient? That wouldn't allow the reaction to sustain itself. He would need some kind of steam-driven turbine to achieve the efficiency needed to provide net power. It doesn't seem unreasonable that his base product doesn't include more than just the basics for now.

lutusp 13y ago
> I hate to defend the guy when he's set off my fraud detector alarms so much, but thermoelectric converters are what, less than 10% efficient? Wait -- the input power requirement is intended to run a heater, not provide electricity. And I should never have mentioned thermoelectric converters, that only complicates the discussion with no benefit. Because the input power is needed to run a "immersion heater" according to the linked page, and because the output power is heat, this whole account quickly unravels. > He would need some kind of steam-driven turbine to achieve the efficiency needed to provide net power. No problem, there are plenty of those available. But the claims in the "fact sheet" are obviously false. If he really had a working unit that developed a megawatt using dozens of smaller units working in parallel, then why doesn't he just start one small unit with a tiny power kick, then use that unit to start four additional units, four to 16, ad infinitum, like a logical design. But Rossi hasn't bothered to think this deeply. The reason? He's not really going to build it. And the reason for that is it cannot be built.
bglazer 13y ago
As a side note Rossi sold 27 thermoelectric converters with a claimed efficiency of 20% to the Department of Defense. 19 of them didn't function at all. The 8 that did work only produced 1 Watt of power instead of the 800 promised. The guy is a scam artist.

by crusso 13y ago

lutusp 13y ago

> I hate to defend the guy when he's set off my fraud detector alarms so much, but thermoelectric converters are what, less than 10% efficient? Wait -- the input power requirement is intended to run a heater, not provide electricity. And I should never have mentioned thermoelectric converters, that only complicates the discussion with no benefit. Because the input power is needed to run a "immersion heater" according to the linked page, and because the output power is heat, this whole account quickly unravels. > He would need some kind of steam-driven turbine to achieve the efficiency needed to provide net power. No problem, there are plenty of those available. But the claims in the "fact sheet" are obviously false. If he really had a working unit that developed a megawatt using dozens of smaller units working in parallel, then why doesn't he just start one small unit with a tiny power kick, then use that unit to start four additional units, four to 16, ad infinitum, like a logical design. But Rossi hasn't bothered to think this deeply. The reason? He's not really going to build it. And the reason for that is it cannot be built.

bglazer 13y ago

As a side note Rossi sold 27 thermoelectric converters with a claimed efficiency of 20% to the Department of Defense. 19 of them didn't function at all. The 8 that did work only produced 1 Watt of power instead of the 800 promised. The guy is a scam artist.