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A vortex engine is a machine for producing and controlling a tornado-like vortex. A vortex engine consists of a cylindrical wall open at the top and with tangential air entries around its base. Heating the air within the wall using a temporary heat source such as steam starts the vortex. The heat to sustain the vortex once established is provided in cooling tower bays located outside of the cylindrical wall and upstream of the deflectors. The continuous heat source for the peripheral heat exchanger can be waste industrial heat or warm seawater. The intensity of the vortex is regulated by restricting the flow of air with dampers located upstream of the deflectors. The vortex can be stopped by restricting the airflow to deflectors with direct orientation and by opening the airflow to deflectors with reverse orientation.
WEATHER systems, as the world has recently been reminded, have awesome power. The energy released by a large hurricane can exceed the energy consumption of the human race for a whole year, and even an average tornado has a power similar to that of a large power station. If only mankind could harness that energy, rather than being at its mercy. Louis Michaud, a Canadian engineer who works at a large oil company, believes he has devised a way to do just that, by generating artificial whirlwinds that can be controlled and harnessed. He calls his invention the “atmospheric vortex engine”.His idea works on a similar principle to a solar chimney, which consists of a tall, hollow cylinder surrounded by a large greenhouse. The sun heats the air in the greenhouse, and the hot air rises. But its only escape route is via the chimney. A turbine at the base of the chimney generates electricity as the air rushes by. A small solar chimney was operated successfully in Spain in the 1980s, and EnviroMission, an Australian firm, is planning to build a 1,000-metre-high example in New South Wales. But the efficiency of such a system is proportional to the height of the chimney, notes Mr Michaud, which is limited by practical considerations. His scheme replaces the chimney with a tornado-like vortex of spinning air, which could extend several kilometres into the atmosphere.
"With a well organised and supported development programme it should be possible to have a commercial-size vortex generator supplying power to the electrical grid within five years," says Michaud. "The technology does not require any extraordinary science. Most of the components are widely used in industry."Michaud has already tested a small version of the AVE, last summer in Utah, which he says was a great success. But will a full-sized engine work? Michaud's background is in energy (he works for a major oil company) but, not surprisingly, he says there have been some raised eyebrows from the scientific community.
S-O-L-A-R P-O-W-E-R. The sun is free. No need for such machinations. Energy conservation, population control, and solar power. Problem solved. Next issue.
Topic: Artificial Tornadoes as a power source. (Read 1907 times)