>-----Original Message----- >From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] >Sent: 27 September 2005 13:06 >To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. >Subject: Re: [OT] Solar Steam Engines... > > >On Tue, Sep 27, 2005 at 11:50:14AM +0100, Michael Rigby-Jones wrote: >> >> >> >-----Original Message----- >> >From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] >> >Sent: 27 September 2005 04:17 >> >To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. >> >Subject: Re: [OT] Solar Steam Engines... >> > >> > >> >Also I gotta ask again: are you sure that steam is out of >> >reach? The conversion from water to steam will give a huge >> >expansion giving a lot of pressure to drive the turbine. >> >> But you have to put in a huge amount of energy to start with! > >I understand that. But a 1500 to 1 expansion you can extract >some real power from that energy. > >With a 3m diameter mirror it's possible to get over 1000C of >sunlight concentrated into a relatively small spot. It is >possible to create enough steam to drive a TC from it? What if >we preheated the inlet water? You can't measure energy input in degrees C though. I'm sure it has probably been covered at least once in this thread, though I haven't read it all, but how much energy can you realisticly expect from a 3m mirror on a sunny day? Heating the inlet water will help a tiny bit, but the vast majority of the energy is taken in converting water in steam(i.e. the latent heat of vaporization), especialy if it's under pressure (which of course it will have to be to do any usefull work). Regards Mike ======================================================================= This e-mail is intended for the person it is addressed to only. The information contained in it may be confidential and/or protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you must not make any use of this information, or copy or show it to any person. Please contact us immediately to tell us that you have received this e-mail, and return the original to us. Any use, forwarding, printing or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. No part of this message can be considered a request for goods or services. ======================================================================= -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist