all of which currently dump the power generated as heat (they use magnetic resistance, in the form of a generator hooked up to big banks of resistors, with a little power bled off to run the computer), you can save quite a bit in air-conditioning costs
I don't think it works that way. Just as much, in fact, slightly more heat would still be produced. I mean, it seems the second law of thermodynamics would imply that.
Besides,.01 pays for 200 watts of electricity (at least it does in Los Angeles)
Yeah, that's where I got the $0.01 from. I used 200 watts and estimated the cost of electricity at $0.05/kilowatt.
And actually, my gym's bikes already power the bike's computer (to monitor heart rate, regulate resistance, etc) this way, I believe. I'll have to check, but I'm pretty sure it gets nowhere near 200 watts though.
25 comments, and everybody besides the valuable mirror people (thx!) is trying to be funny...
I wasn't.
how is this less hackish or nerdish than other fringe hardware hacking, like setting up overclocked boards in fridges or similar stuff which always gets applauded here
True...
this in fact isn't useless, not because it actually solves energy problems, but it rather points to environmental issues someone needs to address...
What, that the environmentalists are hypocrites who waste just as much energy as the rest of us?
Nonetheless they have done a nice and valuable hack, and a green one too...
Pedaling a bike for power? That's neither valuable nor green.
This discussion leads us to how fossil fuels are causing us harm. See, these fuels are plants that died a long time ago, and for all intents and puroposes, are not within this above ground ecosystem naturally.
Nonsense. Watt for watt, fossil fuels produce less CO2 than humans. Yes, one person pedaling a bike doesn't create very much CO2, but they also don't create very much electricity.
Generators are banned by the powers that be at the "Green Gathering" whatever they are running on, this may not be correct, but this is how it is.
So a biodiesel powered generator that burns soy oil and creates carbon dioxide is banned, but a human powered generator that burns soybeans and creates carbon dioxide as well, but does so at a lower efficiency isn't.
Just goes to show the short-sightedness of these Greens.
And how do humans get their energy? From local farms, at the best. No, these people would have done a lot more good for the environment by using a diesel generator and soy oil biodiesel fuel. Yeah, the solar panels are maybe as energy efficient as biodiesel, but as they mention they produce very little energy, in this case only 85 Watts or so.
The offtopic comment was mainly just humorous. I thought your comment was interesting, though we have slipped pretty far down the slippery slope.
Anyway, I completely agree with you about the lawyer thing, I just think in this particular case it's not really relevant. Actually in this case if the lawyer stole the idea (to make a rock station) it would probably be the best thing for the person asking the question. Not only does he get the rock station, the lawyer pays for it:).
You're talking about running a real radio station, right? Not just an internet radio station.
Sounds like it. Real world. That means you have to actually talk to real people, and raise real money, and do real work. And yes, you even have to deal with the government. Yeah, Slashdot was definately the wrong place to post a question about that.
Unless you've got a whole lot of money to invest in all the equipment, fees and royalties, don't even think about it.
Actually, it should be enough to make a couple friends who will sponsor your non-profit station... As in, people you see, not people you chat on AIM with... Again, probably the wrong forum to ask such questions.
And what does your "mandrake box" have to do with this?
Probably just a ploy to trick the Slashdot editors into accepting the story.
And remember, this lawyer will have operated the radio station for years before you could get a judgement against him. And if he wears a nice suit, is friends around town, and is polite to the judge, I'd lay odds that the judge would elect not to shut down his thriving operation because some "tort-abuser" says he had the idea first.
I realize this is a hypothetical, but c'mon. Steal the idea of starting up a radio station? Umm, isn't that idea kind of obvious? And hasn't it already been made public by posting on Slashdot?
-1, offtopic:) Yes, lawyers suck, but in this particular scenario they're not exactly doing anything wrong.
VeriSign Inc has stopped providing access to information about the.gov internet domain, which is restricted to US government bodies, over concerns the data could be used in planning internet attacks.
Meanwhile, the government is trying to pass a law making it illegal for us to do the same thing.
Personally, I'm in favor of having you publically tortured to death. I think that such a penalty would really reduce the problem of sadistic idiots in this world.
Slashdot Mirror
Unlike the way some people think these days the lack of being given a bonus is *NOT* the same as a penalty.
I disagree.
Isn't the fact that they get a 0 instead of a 1 a penalty?
Living in an industrialized country, its hard to live an everyday's life (not becoming a treehugger that is) and not waste energy.
That's why we have taxes, though. Raise them high enough and you can be sure that people will learn how to save energy.
Pedaling a bike for power? That's neither valuable nor green.
No, but its a demonstration, and valuable as a green one.
I guess I just don't get it. What's it demonstrating, exactly?
However, for a gym owner with dozens of bikes
...they'll get dozens of pennies per hour.
all of which currently dump the power generated as heat (they use magnetic resistance, in the form of a generator hooked up to big banks of resistors, with a little power bled off to run the computer), you can save quite a bit in air-conditioning costs
I don't think it works that way. Just as much, in fact, slightly more heat would still be produced. I mean, it seems the second law of thermodynamics would imply that.
Besides, .01 pays for 200 watts of electricity (at least it does in Los Angeles)
Yeah, that's where I got the $0.01 from. I used 200 watts and estimated the cost of electricity at $0.05/kilowatt.
And actually, my gym's bikes already power the bike's computer (to monitor heart rate, regulate resistance, etc) this way, I believe. I'll have to check, but I'm pretty sure it gets nowhere near 200 watts though.
why do Anonymous Cowards start their score at 0?
25 comments, and everybody besides the valuable mirror people (thx!) is trying to be funny...
I wasn't.
how is this less hackish or nerdish than other fringe hardware hacking, like setting up overclocked boards in fridges or similar stuff which always gets applauded here
True...
this in fact isn't useless, not because it actually solves energy problems, but it rather points to environmental issues someone needs to address...
What, that the environmentalists are hypocrites who waste just as much energy as the rest of us?
Nonetheless they have done a nice and valuable hack, and a green one too...
Pedaling a bike for power? That's neither valuable nor green.
This discussion leads us to how fossil fuels are causing us harm. See, these fuels are plants that died a long time ago, and for all intents and puroposes, are not within this above ground ecosystem naturally.
Nonsense. Watt for watt, fossil fuels produce less CO2 than humans. Yes, one person pedaling a bike doesn't create very much CO2, but they also don't create very much electricity.
Generators are banned by the powers that be at the "Green Gathering" whatever they are running on, this may not be correct, but this is how it is.
So a biodiesel powered generator that burns soy oil and creates carbon dioxide is banned, but a human powered generator that burns soybeans and creates carbon dioxide as well, but does so at a lower efficiency isn't.
Just goes to show the short-sightedness of these Greens.
And how do humans get their energy? From local farms, at the best. No, these people would have done a lot more good for the environment by using a diesel generator and soy oil biodiesel fuel. Yeah, the solar panels are maybe as energy efficient as biodiesel, but as they mention they produce very little energy, in this case only 85 Watts or so.
Just so that we can enjoy more callories, we justify more exercise.. to give back the callories... wtf.. doesn't this seem a little silly?
Yeah, but lots of things we do to make ourselves more attractive to the opposite sex are silly.
Anyway, I looked it up. You get about $0.01/hour of electricity per bike... So, not worth it.
I wonder how much money my gym could save by using this concept...
don't be jealous...
The offtopic comment was mainly just humorous. I thought your comment was interesting, though we have slipped pretty far down the slippery slope. Anyway, I completely agree with you about the lawyer thing, I just think in this particular case it's not really relevant. Actually in this case if the lawyer stole the idea (to make a rock station) it would probably be the best thing for the person asking the question. Not only does he get the rock station, the lawyer pays for it :).
You're talking about running a real radio station, right? Not just an internet radio station.
Sounds like it. Real world. That means you have to actually talk to real people, and raise real money, and do real work. And yes, you even have to deal with the government. Yeah, Slashdot was definately the wrong place to post a question about that.
Unless you've got a whole lot of money to invest in all the equipment, fees and royalties, don't even think about it.
Actually, it should be enough to make a couple friends who will sponsor your non-profit station... As in, people you see, not people you chat on AIM with... Again, probably the wrong forum to ask such questions.
And what does your "mandrake box" have to do with this?
Probably just a ploy to trick the Slashdot editors into accepting the story.
You will have to buy the rights to rebroadcast the songs from the record companies, song writers, and publishers.
+1, informative? More like -1, wrong.
And remember, this lawyer will have operated the radio station for years before you could get a judgement against him. And if he wears a nice suit, is friends around town, and is polite to the judge, I'd lay odds that the judge would elect not to shut down his thriving operation because some "tort-abuser" says he had the idea first.
I realize this is a hypothetical, but c'mon. Steal the idea of starting up a radio station? Umm, isn't that idea kind of obvious? And hasn't it already been made public by posting on Slashdot?
-1, offtopic :) Yes, lawyers suck, but in this particular scenario they're not exactly doing anything wrong.
VeriSign Inc has stopped providing access to information about the .gov internet domain, which is restricted to US government bodies, over concerns the data could be used in planning internet attacks.
Meanwhile, the government is trying to pass a law making it illegal for us to do the same thing.
When someone breaks into a a computer on your network, calling the owner of the domain can help you find the bastard.
When someone breaks into a computer on your network, you can't tell what his domain name is, only his IP address.
The cost of reading a post on slashdot is a reasonable cost - a very low one.
I fail to see how it's any lower than the cost of spam. It still takes time, uses bandwidth, and uses disk space (for the cache).
And I'd defend your right to say it -- but say it with your dime. Not mine.
You realize of course that it's costing me money to read your post.
Personally, I'm in favor of having you publically tortured to death. I think that such a penalty would really reduce the problem of sadistic idiots in this world.
And it's working.
The constitution, the federal laws, the judicial system.
No they can't.
When you go to a library, you are visiting a public place, stocked with public property.
What if the library isn't owned by the public?