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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Harnassing a Tornado for Electricity
2017-04-19
Wind energy at its finest. We're not in Kansas, anymore, Toto.
[MNN] In the 1980s, a project in Spain used the sun to warm air near the ground and then funneled up to a turbine to create energy. While solar chimneys have been around for centuries, working on a scale capable of meeting larger power needs would require an incredibly tall chimney. But tornadoes are nature's chimneys in a way, so why build a chimney when you can just make a tornado?

One way to make a big vortex is power plants. Power plants generate a great deal of heat waste already, so why not harness that waste to create a tornado that will turn some turbines?

An AVE would gather up all that heat waste and use it to maintain the vortex. The inventor said this process could "increase output [of the power plant] by 10 to 20 percent, without using any additional fuel." If you're wondering how big this tornado created by a power plant would be, the answer is about 9 miles high. Most tornadoes only clock in about 5.6 miles.
Oh. A man-made 'tornado'.
Posted by:Bobby

#4  Ima thinkrn a decent size group of Tasmanian Devils could power em up

/Things I learned from cartoon science
Posted by: Frank G   2017-04-19 18:34  

#3  many modern power plants already use the waste heat to pre-warm fuel or warm various operating areas or for other purposes

my car uses waste heat to keep the passenger compartment warm in winter- big deal
Posted by: lord garth   2017-04-19 17:45  

#2  And how do they keep a nine miles high tornado in place? What are the environmental costs? Once the tornado is 'running' how do they keep the sun shining on the cylinder?

Too many things wrong with this concept, I'm thinking this is just a money trap designed to get as much money as possible with little or no return.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance   2017-04-19 16:25  

#1  Plus, no gerbils would be wormed in the creation of the Giant Spanish Suck.
Posted by: ed in texas   2017-04-19 15:19  

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