If'n the gummint was to send it, I'd have to worry about all the strings
attached - so thanks, but no thanks. :)
I just bent my best crowbar into a pretzel shape to add the few tools
needed to prototype the current fluidyne pump design sketched at
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/Projects/Stirling/InlineV1.html
Tool pix can be seen at
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/Misc/PumpTools /
The tools are all from HF and I've managed to apply _two_ of their 20%
off coupons (one on each of two items), but it's still difficult for me.
At least I'll also be able to look forward to using these to build a few
of the woodworking tool ideas that have been sitting on the back burner...
It is.
"If there's an Achilles' heel to Nocera's invention, some scientists
say, it's that it needs other devices to offer a complete energy package."
Hmm. I don't want to rain on the professor's parade, but those other
devices (solar panels and fuel cells) are pretty spendy items - even for
folks living in relatively affluent societies.
There is a company claiming to have achieved a US$1/Watt manufacturing
cost, and the last time I looked at fuel cell prices, I sighed and
crossed 'em off /my/ shopping list - permanently. :(
[ One of my yardsticks is the little village Joe Agro visited and posted
photos of back in January: http://tinyurl.com/Ghana2010 - If you haven't
seen Joe's photos, they're worth a look. ]
My own efforts to deal with third world energy difficulties have been a
lot less spectacular, but it seems that I'm slowly and painfully zeroing
in on a solar power head that, I think, will be usable for pumping (the
original objective) and (almost by accident) for electrical power
generation.
Anyone who's interested can follow along at
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/Projects/Stirling /
and my most recent prototype design effort is sketched out at
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/Projects/Stirling/InlineV1.html
It may be worth noting that this work is being done by volunteers, each
of whom bear the full cost of their part of the project.
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