I've always thought that Edison's notion of using DC instead of AC would've resulted in a better energy situation -- more locally produced power through cogeneration and other sources, and better storage capability. But this New York Times piece on how he worked to build an electric car, and his dream of powering every house with its own wind generator, puts him squarely ahead of his time.
Thomas Edison's dream: A wind generator for every house
A man ahead of his times 8
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Posted 12:00 PM on 6 Jun 2007
by Erik Hoffner -
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Erik Hoffner is the coordinator of the Orion Grassroots Network which supports the work of hundreds of grassroots groups and which connects the green leaders of tomorrow with good work today via the Grassroots Jobsource. Based in Massachusetts, he is also a freelance photographer.
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Green Granny Posted 7:42 pm
06 Jun 2007
The last paragraph in the article is almost prophetic:
In 1931, not long before he died, the inventor told his friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone: "I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that."
"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Ghandi
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Delay And Deny Posted 12:53 am
07 Jun 2007
http://www.teslascience.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower
When Morgan wanted to know "Where can I put the meter?", Tesla had no answer. Tesla's vision of free power did not agree with Morgan's worldview; nor would it pay for the maintenance of the transmission system.
John Bailo, The "Denier Guy"
You Read It Here First
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Delay And Deny Posted 8:32 am
07 Jun 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6725955.stm
Wireless energy promise powers up
US researchers have successfully tested an experimental system to deliver power to devices without the need for wires.
The setup, reported in the journal Science, made a 60W light bulb glow from a distance of 2m (7ft).
John Bailo, The "Denier Guy"
You Read It Here First
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SustainableGreen Posted 4:39 am
08 Jun 2007
Yeah, I really should find a good biography of Edison. He really seemed to have a populist approach to inventing, thinking in terms of the common person's needs.
I did read somewhere that of the 100s of patents he had only a few are still currently (oooh pardon) in use, one of them being one of the least efficient, the incandescent bulb. I was shocked (ouch sorry).
He did work on the 3 things mentioned here: wind turbines, solar, and electric cars. But I think his employers and stockholders were more interested in what they could make money on in perpetuity, hence the 'electricity as commodity' mentality that stills hypnotizes us, rather than really on improving people's lives.
I sincerely hope the charge has now gone down (oh darn it!) on the 'electricity as commodity' mentality and we can get to distributed generation. On another thread, at current efficiencies of 10%, PV on roofs would cover 55% of electricity needs. Efficiency on some types of PV panels is in the range 15-20% so soon we could approach 100%. In the meantime, any percent is that much less GHG. And between Wind and Sun, I get to waste electricity. Yep, PV and/or wind could do a lot more.
It's those damn neighbors and that damn corporate oligarchy!
David
Sustainability For Life
Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!
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Delay And Deny Posted 5:00 am
08 Jun 2007
Yeah, I really should find a good biography of Edison. He really seemed to have a populist approach to inventing, thinking in terms of the common person's needs.
Edison was the beginning of "corporate inventing" and the end of the sole scientist.
He was a businessman who created a "patent trolling" organization to monopolize intellectual property.
John Bailo, The "Denier Guy"
You Read It Here First
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Nucbuddy Posted 4:09 pm
08 Jun 2007
scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=JAPIAU000084000002001109000001&
;idtype=cvips&gifs=yes
solar power plants [...] Under direct illumination the fundamental efficiency limit corresponds to the Carnot efficiency which is 94.8%. With isotropically scattering clouds the efficiency is reduced to a spectral average of 72.3%.
The Carnot efficiency-limit is calculated by taking the solar color-temperature (6,000 K) and dividing the ambient-temperature-difference into it. In this case, an ambient temperature of 312 K (39 C) was assumed. (6,000 - 5,688) / 6,000 = a 94.8% efficiency limit.
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SustainableGreen Posted 6:09 pm
08 Jun 2007
The percent references I used are confusing. The statement in the other thread was that at 10% efficiency, and using all the roofs, PV would cover 55% of electricity demand. Increasing PV efficiency increases coverage of demand. As efficiency increases to 15-20% we begin to approach 100% coverage of demand. The statement has nothing to do with the theoretical limit on PV, but the information is helpful.
David
Sustainability For Life
Messages done with sustainable energy, with Wind and Sun!
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amazingdrx Posted 10:42 pm
08 Jun 2007
Backup the home wind and solar with a home biogas digestor running a fuel cell and it can work.
It needs a large dose of conservation as well and even an electric car can be charged up for the daily average trip.
Tesla and Edison, AC and DC grids were bitter business antagonists. It's a fascinating tale. Suitable for a Gristmill article on its own!
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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