Recent content by Isarmann

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    Alternator for Low Wind Speed Wind Turbine.

    I just meant that the head, with the turbine blades attached to it, bends off-axis from the wind-- as little as 30 degrees will spill the wind from the blades; they all stall. Look at it this way: if you can't vary the pitch of an individual blade, how do you turn that blade edge-on to the...
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    Alternator for Low Wind Speed Wind Turbine.

    The description is more-or-less on-target, but if you've not seen a wind turbine feather itself, well, there are differences. Only the extremely large (50kW-to-1MW) wind turbines actually feather their blades like a variable-pitch aircraft propeller does--- that kind of complex gearing is never...
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    Solving the Tesla Turbine Bearing Temperature Problem

    Yes! I could certainly see boundary-layer and surface effects being considered second-order in the minds of those who wrote the programs; but for our purposes, they're clearly first-order effects. I think Flotherm (or Flowtherm) may have been the program I was looking at before, and it's main...
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    Solving the Tesla Turbine Bearing Temperature Problem

    Yeah, I agree that modelling software is the way to go... I'm using pro/ENGINEER from PTC, and it does include a module to do mechanical stress modelling--- but I think the key would be something more like what Argentina mentioned; thermodynamic modelling. I know of a very capable product...
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    Constructing a Fluidyne Engine: Questions & Answers

    Certianly. I'm glad it fills the bill. Let me know if you want to discuss any particulars... Incidentally, there's someone who's been posting YouTube videos of small example fluidynes running... It's a little odd, because while the engines are very nicely made, and the videos...
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    Solving the Tesla Turbine Bearing Temperature Problem

    I agree, Argentina... I have reviewed all of Tesla's patents on the turbine, to better understand his own thinking on the advantages of the design; based on those I have some comments I will post a bit later. I think we can come up with a 'standard' design that features easily-changed major...
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    David Blaine - 17 min breath hold

    I agree with Alfi--- I think this is within the realm of possibility, at least. Maze's experiment establishes the effect, and do keep in mind it would be much more pronounced with pure oxygen. As I understand it, saturating the blood with oxygen is only one part of it (and I've read some who...
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    Can you make this addititive from common (perhaps household) materials?

    Okay... So it would certainly seem as if the low compression is the big thing they're trying to work around. Roughly 17:1 is considered the old-school (meaning primitive engines; widest range of acceptable fuels) compression for diesels. So the alcohol and nitro are probably there mostly...
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    Constructing a Fluidyne Engine: Questions & Answers

    Sure thing! There is an excellent report prepared by Oak Ridge National Laboratory available which covers all the dynamics of using fluidyne engines to pump water for irrigation. Yes, the demensioning of the tubes is one of the main variables in determining engine performance, but happily...
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    Is Titanium the Solution for Rust-Proof Solar Panel Mesh?

    Titanium would be my suggestion; it's rather notably inert. Unoxidized titanium very quickly (as in, a matter of microseconds) forms a protective layer of titanium oxide which prevents further oxidation. Titanium can withstand pure acids at temperatures of 800C or more--- which is, I think, a...
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    Synthesis and toxicity of hydrazine

    The one thing I'd like to add here, and I can say with complete assurance; hydrazine is exquisitely dangerous stuff. That may be somewhat obvious from its use as rocket fuel, but what you may not know is that it is one half of a family of binary explosives... and those explosives are noted for...
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    Can you make this addititive from common (perhaps household) materials?

    Do you know what the compression is in these model-size diesel-cycle engines? Also, whether these are direct-injection or indirect-injection would tell me more... You see, I'm not sure that these engines flat-out will not run on diesel, but there's probably a specific problem these mixes...
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    Solving the Tesla Turbine Bearing Temperature Problem

    Hehehe... I like that. I really wonder about the thermodynamic component myself... I'd really love to see tests done (or do them myself) to establish some of these things we're wondering about.
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    Start a Company Making Entertainment Systems for Nail Salons

    Do keep in mind... Personally, I would not try to start a business in the current economy. If you are going to proceed, though, I'd suggest more than one feasibility study and/or business plan be developed and heavily vetted by disinterested parties... just to keep you safe. Keep in mind...
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    Alternator for Low Wind Speed Wind Turbine.

    Okay, I think they'll make it now--- here are the links: http://www.scoraigwind.com/ http://www.otherpower.com/ http://windstuffnow.com/main/alt_from_scratch.htm Incidentally, I ran across a table which seems to show that there's little chance of getting usable power from a 2-3 mph...