Drunkard's Walk Forums

the world needs more people like this guy.
Takes a novel look at something that seen as a detrimental side effect to be suppressed (wind flutter) and turns it into a power source.
Windbelt-Terry
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"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint Exupery
"Luge strategy? Lie flat and try not to die." - Carmen Boyle (Olympic Luge Gold Medal winner - 1996)
Mary Sue's theme music
-Terry
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"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy

Now that is a nifty invention. Reminds me of an idea that an old boss I had was pondering for using flutter, but his would have worked differently.
I especially like the idea of having something that can be repaired in the field. And while it doesn't generate much power there's no reason you couldn't keep tacking on additional ones. There is also the chance that someone may spot a way to increase the output.
I truly believe the key to improving the future lays not in any silver bullet, but in combining hundreds and thousands of ideas like this.
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Will the transhumanist future have catgirls? Does Japan still exist? Well, there is your answer.

from what I understand of college physics, power output is limited by a few things.
1) the size of the magnets
2) the throw (distance traveled) of the magnets
3) the amount of wire wrapped in the coils
4) how quickly the magnets travel
1, 2, are inversely related to 4 (given a set wind speed)
3 only really becomes an issue when the coils become large enough that they impede the movement of the band. There is also a diminishing return for each additional wrap of wire.
But I can definitely see larger scale constructions of these being setup in parallel to run lighting or charge a battery system.
and the dirt cheap construction materials don't hurt either.-Terry
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"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint Exupery
"Luge strategy? Lie flat and try not to die." - Carmen Boyle (Olympic Luge Gold Medal winner - 1996)
Mary Sue's theme music
-Terry
-----
"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy