Slashdot Mirror


Artificial Tornadoes

An anonymous reader writes "This inventor is working on a method of creating artificial tornadoes to generate electricity which he calls the "Atmospheric Vortex Engine". He is claiming that it is possible to create a man-made tornado and use wind turbines to capture the energy from the tornado. On the website there is some video footage of some experimental tornadoes that were generated in a prototype vortex tower in Utah. There seem to be several recent media references to his work including The Economist and The Guardian. Sounds like an interesting idea for a renewable energy source, but what happens if one of these tornadoes gets away?"

10 of 267 comments (clear)

  1. Natural disasters on demand! by martinultima · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe we should sell this to FEMA and put them in charge of creating all natural disasters in the United States. (You know, they could change their name to the Federal Emergency Making Agency...) That way we'd have hurricanes that could destroy the world, but it would take six to eight weeks before anything actually happened, giving us plenty of time to actually prepare for the disaster when it finally did arrive.

    --
    Creative misinterpretation is your friend.
  2. Cereal Box? by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, I got one of these out of a Frosted Flakes box when I was a kid. It's a little plastic widget and you screw it in-between two 2-liter soda bottles, and when you flip them over, instant tornado! I don't know how you get power from it...

  3. This begs for the... by KDR_11k · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... obligatory demanding of ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

    Seriously, what evil overlord would miss such an opportunity?

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  4. If they escape... by wisdom_brewing · · Score: 3, Funny

    Simple, you film a new reality show about the runaways, the sequels write themselves...

  5. ask hollywood by Main+Gauche · · Score: 3, Funny
    "what happens if one of these tornadoes gets away?"

    I don't know, but I'm sure Jerry Bruckheimer will tell us, one of these years.

  6. Re:"What happens if..." by modecx · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh sure, you can say that all naively--until the tornados from various towers, fed up with their oppression, form a union and combine into one giant-ass tornado that's hell-bent on giving you the Judy Garland treatment!

    Fear the artificial vortices!

    --
    Constitutional rights may be respected, repealed, or modified; but they must never be ignored.
  7. It is already a weapon. by Talinom · · Score: 3, Funny

    I mean really people. The proof is right here!!!

    If a weatherman from Pocatello, ID can figure it out surely you can too! Now we know the technology exists to have a tornado take out anyone, anywhere at anytime.

    --
    "Giving money and power to governments is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." - P.J. O'Rourke
  8. Tornado Hot Poney by FerretFrottage · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just create a mobile home park within about a mile and you'll know exactly where a runaway tornado will go. Set up a net there, catch it and return it to its turbine cage. Maybe give the tornade a three strikes rule and after its third runaway, just turn it back to slow moving air, or threaten to send it to the jet stream in Canada because we know how much tornados hate the cold.

    --
    "Look Lois, the two symbols of the Republican Party: an elephant, and a fat white guy who is threatened by change."
  9. Re:That idea just blows me away by madaxe42 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nah, this sucks. What kind of total airhead comes up with this kind of thing? I think he's full of hot air. Anyhow, his entire paper is just twisted facts. Wait until the media frenzy blows over, and you'll see that this is just another investment siphon.

  10. Energy from placement of trailer parks.. by DiGG3r · · Score: 5, Funny

    The proper placement of tin can single and double wides should act as a catalyst for the formation of tornandos.