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Wind turbines that pull water from the air
keltic1701
Member Posts: 1,162
This is an interesting process to get water to remote and arid places of the earth. Sort of reminds me of the moisture collectors in Dune.
Comments
Cool story and yeah, kind of like Dune. Over 200 gallons of water a day.
That would certainly help in areas where people don't have clean drinking water. Not very cost effective at the moment it seems though.
"TO MICHAEL!"
Saw this too, pretty interesting.
He obviously didn't invent the process, but he invented the workable device. Wouldn't mind owning one just for the hell of it.
Though someone posed a good question on a comment board:
"What would happen to weather patterns and local water-tables if they were in massive wide-spread use?"
That's the thing, no one ever thinks about displacement.
That water would of gone somewhere, eventually. Good for right away assistance but long term.
Well there would need to be a decade long study.
All and all good tech especially in water depleted regions of the world, however would that cause water depreciation in other regions?
OMG this is awesome. I can think of plenty of places this tech can be used! Like Mars! Seriously. That's for another topic. Anyway, yes here on Earth there are many places this would go over big. Think of places in Australia, Northern Africa and in places like Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe. What about some areas in the middle-east or like some of the desert regions of South America where it hasn't rained in like 700 years! This could do wonders for the deserts there and make it more habitable for people that wish to live in such locations - like me! I love the dsesert.
I believe the inventor stated that his device was not meant to be used on a mass scale but only for small remote areas where the population is small and water scarce. At least that's how I understood his meaning.
And I also agree with Teala's statement that this would be ideal for use on a Mars mission (You've been on a Mars kick lately. Haven't you?) or for an outpost when we eventually get there and perhaps the technology could be improved between now and then.
without an atmosphere the collected water on Mars would evaporate into space..
http://www.physorg.com/news167925273.html
They invented Transparent Alluminum recently too!
Right out of Star Trek.
The wind turbines would be helpful in emergency situations though regardless of the risks to atmo. Short term should be ok for use...
example...
A military unit on secret deployment could use one to get water while in the field, etc..
Or...
A group of scientists on a far off continent far from civilization or the local water source is contaminated, etc...
VERY cool inventions
www.ted.com/talks/dean_kamen_previews_a_new_prosthetic_arm.html
speaking on military tehnology.
There is a lot of really cool science if you're curious enough to know where to look.
after 6 or so years, I had to change it a little...
I wonder if he needs someone that can speak the binary language of moisture vaporators...
Who said nobody wants to be uncle Owen!
"Suddenly, thousands of Trekies whose heads are full of facts of things like the stardate when the Cardassians farted on Deep Space nine are irrlelevant." - hardcoremoviecritic
Damn you Jullio Torres! Damn you Smedley!
DAmn you lady making fun of ppl wanting to be Uncle Owen1!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mars does have an atmosphere doesn't it? At least a very thin one. And with terraforming, it could have a substantial one. However, the existence of water is a bigger problem. There's probably some there somewhere, but it may be very limited, which would limit the amount of life it could support.
I wonder if water could be transported from other bodies to Mars though. Jupiter's moon, Europa, is thought to be completely enveloped in water and it's unlikely it will ever be suitable for humans. So if the water from Europa could somehow be transported to Mars, we'd be in business.
Mars?!?!? Screw that, build these things in Florida please. We need humidity relief more then any martians.
Mars does have an atmosphere doesn't it? At least a very thin one. And with terraforming, it could have a substantial one. However, the existence of water is a bigger problem. There's probably some there somewhere, but it may be very limited, which would limit the amount of life it could support.
I wonder if water could be transported from other bodies to Mars though. Jupiter's moon, Europa, is thought to be completely enveloped in water and it's unlikely it will ever be suitable for humans. So if the water from Europa could somehow be transported to Mars, we'd be in business.
http://dawn.ucla.edu/personnel/russell/papers/mars_mag/
http://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/mars/index.html
The problem with terraforming Mars using this technology is:
1. Mars is small and does not have enough mass/density to generate the gravity required to sustain an Earthlike atmosphere.
2. Mars has compared to Earth almost no protective magnetic field. Lighter elements and compounds such as hydrogen and even water are stripped away in the upper atmosphere by the solar wind. Mars only has trace water vapor. 95% is carbon dioxide.
3. While Mars has Earth-like sustained winds, Mars has 1% of Earth's atmospheric pressure. The force of wind required to drive this turbine is not possible/probable on Mars.
These are the main points. There are a few others that can be added. If anybody has others or thinks I'm mistaken please say so.
"Suddenly, thousands of Trekies whose heads are full of facts of things like the stardate when the Cardassians farted on Deep Space nine are irrlelevant." - hardcoremoviecritic
Mars does have an atmosphere doesn't it? At least a very thin one. And with terraforming, it could have a substantial one. However, the existence of water is a bigger problem. There's probably some there somewhere, but it may be very limited, which would limit the amount of life it could support.
I wonder if water could be transported from other bodies to Mars though. Jupiter's moon, Europa, is thought to be completely enveloped in water and it's unlikely it will ever be suitable for humans. So if the water from Europa could somehow be transported to Mars, we'd be in business.
http://dawn.ucla.edu/personnel/russell/papers/mars_mag/
http://www-k12.atmos.washington.edu/k12/mars/index.html
The problem with terraforming Mars using this technology is:
1. Mars is small and does not have enough mass/density to generate the gravity required to sustain an Earthlike atmosphere.
2. Mars has compared to Earth almost no protective magnetic field. Lighter elements and compounds such as hydrogen and even water are stripped away in the upper atmosphere by the solar wind. Mars only has trace water vapor. 95% is carbon dioxide.
3. While Mars has Earth-like sustained winds, Mars has 1% of Earth's atmospheric pressure. The force of wind required to drive this turbine is not possible/probable on Mars.
These are the main points. There are a few others that can be added. If anybody has others or thinks I'm mistaken please say so.
Ah, yeah, I forgot about Mars' low gravity. I remember now hearing about that some time ago. The distance from the sun might make the lack of a magnetic field less of a problem, but still not eliminate it altogether. And I think winds would become stronger and more sustained with a heavier atmosphere. But, I agree, the low gravity is a problem. Don't know if there's a way to overcome that or not.
While I applaud the advancement in this technology, I am concerned about it's effects on the ecosystems. drawing all of the water from the air would most definately have a direct impact on the humidty levels, frequency of rain and many plant and animal life. I think efforts would be better served by converting the rising sea levels to drinking water and focus on long term irrigation to dry areas as a more permanent solution to droughts. Irrigation has always served well as a tried and true method.
That's the thing, no one ever thinks about displacement.
That water would of gone somewhere, eventually. Good for right away assistance but long term.
Well there would need to be a decade long study.
All and all good tech especially in water depleted regions of the world, however would that cause water depreciation in other regions?
That's kind of what I was thinking. It would create severely dry air where such a machine was utilized. It is very interesting, however.
Wow how cool.
fishermage.blogspot.com
Damn you Jullio Torres! Damn you Smedley!
DAmn you lady making fun of ppl wanting to be Uncle Owen1!!!!!!!!!!!!
people.forbes.com/profile/nancy-g-macintyre/48801
better yet:
www.nytimes.com/2005/12/10/arts/10star.html
"We really just needed to make the game a lot more accessible to a much broader player base," said Nancy MacIntyre, the game's senior director at LucasArts. "There was lots of reading, much too much, in the game. There was a lot of wandering around learning about different abilities. We really needed to give people the experience of being Han Solo or Luke Skywalker rather than being Uncle Owen, the moisture farmer. We wanted more instant gratification: kill, get treasure, repeat. We needed to give people more of an opportunity to be a part of what they have seen in the movies rather than something they had created themselves."
Remember remember the 15th of November the NGE treason and plot....
fishermage.blogspot.com
I wouldn't be too worried about the environmental effects. The moisture is just going to be collected by sandtrout anyway. Once the pre-spice mass builds up and we have a spice blow, the moisture will be on the top sand layer anyway. With House Harkonnen's current workforce of harvestors, most of that moisture will be collected and consumed for human use anyway. Besides, the record spice profits allow large quantities of off-world water to be shipped in, so the ecology should remain stable. If anything the collection of water with these devices can only benefit the planet.
It's all there in the reports from the Emperor's Planetologist, Dr. Kynes.
There is reason to be concerned about the effects on the eco systems , specifically in the ecosystems where the turbines would be placed. It would have a direct impact on animal and plant life due to the humidty levels.
For Example:
High Humidity Induces Abscisic Acid 8'-Hydroxylase in Stomata and Vasculature to Regulate Local and Systemic Abscisic Acid Responses in Arabidopsis1,[OA]
Depending on the scale of the usage of these turbines, It would determine the direct impact on the local ecosystems. Now with irrigation of sea water on the other hand, the rising sea levels is a new conditon, so irrigating that water would not have that great of an impact on the eco systems since that level of water did not previously exist long term. It would actually be solving 2 problems with one solution.
Well, I for one think it is a pretty sweet invention. But like a few have already said, there may be environmental consequences to using this device. Often times man's impact on the environment is not felt until after he has altered it. There are just too many variables that cannot be anticipated.
However, the machine in the video wasn't that large and I don't think using them on a limited scale would hurt that much. But if you wanted to try to build an entire city in the desert and use thousands of these devices to try to supply it with water, that could have a negative consequence.
I agree, both as a sweet invention and your comment on it's size. The inventor even stated it was designed for remote locations.
No link for this as I am feeling lazy, sea water desalinization is a more effcient form of fresh water (volume) production than this tech. In regions that have little fresh water, have the funding, and an ocean nearby they can use this process. But in the middle of the Sahara, Tibet and others for small communities the OPs tech would work better cost wise. Rich countries like the USA (southwest) and the United Arab Emrites could effectively use desalinization (desalinisation for the Brits) for efficiency sake.
I live in the USA southwest. Arizona. It is estimated by 2020 here they will have to start recycling sewage water into the water works to keep up with demand. If S. California converted the San Anofre Nuclear power plant into a self sustained desalinization plant they could remove their demand on the Colorado river. Arizona also draws on th Colorado. Where I live we wouldn't have to drink toilet water in eleven years.
The only problem with desalinization is the cost. I think it would raise water cost by 1000% for the desert USA southwest. Efficient but expensive. Perhaps some venture capitalist will sell a tank that captures the condensed water that drains out of the AC units used in homes to draw on. I live in one of those all electric super efficient homes. I thought of this years ago when my AC drain tube clogged and back pressured a leak in my roof. But with water still cheap here and like most Americans nobody will pay for it till forced, I decided not to try and turn AC condensation into my own business deal.
"Suddenly, thousands of Trekies whose heads are full of facts of things like the stardate when the Cardassians farted on Deep Space nine are irrlelevant." - hardcoremoviecritic