Diesoon v. Numatic Re: Those were the days!

In one sense the 'invention' isn't a new one. I recall reading some research studies some decades ago on something similar. The idea was, indeed, based on a very tall 'chimney'. However it sets out to exploit the temperature gradient.

The idea is that you 'prime' the process by deliberately warming the air in the tall chimmey column. [1] This causes an updraft to initiate. Once this is started the chimney keeps drawing in warmer air from the base are letting it rise. The result is a column of lower-density warmer air at each level compared with its surroundings. So the process continues.

You can then fit turbines to take off power.

AFAIC it is theoretically feasible provided you have a temperature gradient with the temperature falling with height at a suitable rate. The snags are all 'in practice' - as usual for neatly novel ideas. First build your chimney (some kilometers high)...

In essence all it does is trap and use the convection currents that occur anyway as the Sun warms the ground and starts updrafts. Birds and gliders make good use of this at present. Quite a lot of power is available. But only if you can build on a suitably grand scale. :-) People in the d-i-y group might like to try this in their garden... if they can get planning permission. ;->

Slainte,

Jim

They did. They also would blow. Not many modern ones will, I wish I'd kept mine.

Because we had vans and not cars when I was little and because I have a van now, whenever we're in the car I always refer to it as the van. I just can't help it.

When I was a kid our house had a through lounge with windows at the front and at the back that was called the front room, because at my grandma's house the best room was at the front. Where I live now the best room is at the back but we call it the front room. We also have a cupboard that is not under the stairs but it is called the under the stairs cupboard.

Bill

Bummer. I thought I was onto something.

Don't despair Max. The moon is zero gravity, so if the other end of the tube were on the moon it could well work.

Count me in. This time next year we will be millionaires.

Whether this is new or not (and the fact that no one else has posted it makes me suspect the former), this must be posted here.

Not zero gravity on the moon - just less than the earth. Don't you remember pics of the astronauts leaping?

On the basis that no one else has posted this, it must be new, and is a must for this thread.

have posted it!

It is excellent.

Very amusing.

Technically they appear to have done a very good job with the lighting of the shots.

Are the hallways lights really the only lights being used to illuminate the scene where the party goes to the bedroom door?

Well, the moon is in free fall. If you were where it is you'd feel as if you were in zero gravity too. The astronauts of course feel the _moon's_ gravity.

As does the dust they kick up, as you should always point out to one of those nutters who thinks the whole thing was faked.

Andy

That's true of almost anywhere...

-- Richard

The same applies to the Earth?

There wouldn't be any dust if there were zero gravity relative to the moon. ;-)

See also

About as useful as a Dalek on stairs

Talking of which, I am surprised nobody has mentioned the what are surely useless, especially for stairs, robot vacuum cleaners, now being sold in supermarkets, eg Samsung Navibot.

The site includes not only robot vacuum cleaners but items even William Wright Esquire would appreciate -- a self cleaning cat litter box -- for all his cats ;)

Good grief! What sort of TV programmes do the robots like to watch, I wonder?

Oh really? I've had my DC01 since 1998 or so. Only two problems it's had was (1) the cable frayed where it entered the body, causing a short. So I undid the handy screw just there, cut off the damaged bit of cable, and rewired it. Fine since then. And (2) the flexible hose split so I got a replacement, which was trivial to fit.

It has always done a good job of cleaning, and we see no need to replace it. A stand-up is best for carpets as you don't have to press down. We have a cheap Electrolux with bags to do corners and ledges and stuff like that.

"Fireball XL5" and "Lost in Space" of course. ;)

Maybe even "Futurama".