Slashdot Mirror
Energy from High-Altitude Kites
maddmike writes "High altitude kites could produce energy equal to some power stations at a comparable cost without polluting. The technique uses a thing dubbed a 'Laddermill' - a chain of kites attached together to create a loop in the sky more than 5 miles long."
the only thing that is high.
One strong gust of wind and the earth could start spinning the other way.
What do you expect from a guy named Wubbo Ockels?
What would Benjamin Franklin have to say about this?
"The Laddermill would only be flown where aircraft are banned. One such area is the" white house.
Paul
I thought Franklin flew the kite because he needed 1.21 gigawatts in order to send the DeLorean back to the future to pick up a load of cocaine or something like that.
that's called free extra power
moox. for a new generation.
"One such area is the" white house."
How do you fly the white house?
...took the US a little too serously when we told them to go fly a kite.
(ducking)
"Oh drat these computers, they're so naughty and so complex, I could pinch them." --Marvin the Martian
Maintaining such a system of giant kites in such strong winds is going to be a problem, as is lightning, storms, etc.
And if they install some along the US/Mexico border as the article suggests then there's also drug-smuggling aircraft.
This just in... The city of Dallas was plunged into darkness when a kite was struck by a cocaine-laden aircraft.
I say we just take the people who came up with this and chain them to an exercise bike for power, anyone with me?
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
"Unless their tethered"
I can just see the engineers standing slackjawed as they watch their kites go awol. Gee Herb, I thought it was your job to tie the string.
Mary Poppins would approve. And we all want to please Mary Poppins.
Heck, I figure you could get about 1.21 gigawatts easily.
All employees must wash hands before seeking equitable relief.
No problem. With all this power, I'm sure we can float up a giant fan to create more wind!
You miss something, young teenager shaking in righteous angst...
The industrial world has a vested interest in maintaining itself and not destroying itself or us: If there is no civilization or people to buy goods and services, then money and soon power (as in power of the people, not nuclear power) go bye-bye.
It's simplistic and misses all those pesky nuances, but true.
Now, whether or not the industrial world _knows_ how to maintain itself and not destroy us... THAT's another question...
Humorless sig goes here.
Look at the math.
A person can generate about 1/4 horsepower with an excersize bike. Given the daily rate for unskilled labor in many countries now, we could simply rig up a giant wheel like what Conan the Barbarian pushed around as a slave in that clearly prophetic movie.
Given the cost of building a nuke plant, then running it, getting rid of the waste, (hiding it really well for a really long time), and cleaning up after it -- it would be cheaper per kilowatt to simply have a bunch of low paid people push giant logs around in a circle.
The economics are outstanding. Its great excersize, and the power companies would be incented to provide health care at the same time. It provides plenty of jobs for unskilled labor, and could quickly be set up in the lowest income countries.
All in all, its a win-win. Best of all, it doesn't suffer from the one drawback everyone is clearly afraid to speak about with wind-power, which is the potential for slowing down the rotation of the earth! Clearly a danger if ever there was one. Why, if we slowed down the earth, and there was no centrifugal force apposing the gravity of our planet we would all be crushed! Oh the horror.
The problem with quotes on the internet, is that nobody bothers to check their veracity. -- Abraham Lincoln