Recent content by madcowswe

The change in partial perssure due to salt ions, and the change in barometric pressure due to the density change due to the salt ions are not exactly the same, which is the basis of the paradox.

You are correct, if this would involve osmosis, but it involves reverse osmosis driven by the density of the salt water.

Have you ever seen salt diffuse up a waterfall?

I agree to what you are saying: That the slight compressibility of the salt-water will serve to increase the relative concentration of the salt-water at the bottom of its column. Yet at these depths, as given before, the percentage change is much lower than the difference in density between...

Exactly. While they are not totally incompressible, the density increases with such a tiny amount for both salt-water and regular water, that it is negligible. Furthermore, as it increases pretty much exactly with the same factor for both of them, we can neglect this change.

Where I live, in Stockholm, Sweden, it is approaching 5 AM and I have school tomorrow, but keep it up, Ill join you tomorrow.

Thank you cesiumfrog, we are getting back to the right track. It is trying to get the differential density powered reverse osmosis to "not work" in terms of density and osmosis that I'm really looking for.

The 1st law of thermodynamics, the law of conservation of energy is what you describe. There is the second law, the law I am referring to, that makes this freezing over, charged battery, argument impossible. As you might know, this law deals with work, not just energy. You are correct in...

The problem becomes that when the risen water at point C goes to the level where it pours back into the salt-water, it is still in the same "charged" state, while water is pouring.

Hehe, well, i might be into a hopeless pursuit, but simply saying "No device can make free energy" feels kind of an unsatisfactory explanation, when the hydro-statics and osmotic mechanisms all declare that the pure water should rise above the salt-water, period. And thus generate potential...

Yes it seems to be that osmotic pressure is independent of absolute pressure, it was one of my first ideas to try to uncover the answer, but to no avail. You mean that the pressure exerted will not be enough to work backwards against the saline gradient, or did i misunderstand you? Anyway it...

Well, yeah, even if this machine ends up freezing over, it still did free useful work, which is also thermodynamically impossible. Hence, we have a problem. Yet I am still more concerned with the explanation that foils this plan without simply stating "There is no free lunch".

This I understand. I know the laws of thermodynamics will not allow a perpetual motion machine. What i want to know is the reasons why this will not work in terms of what is really going on, that is, in terms of fluid statics and osmosis. Well, according to...

To me, a Halbach Array seems quite simple to make. Simply stick some permanent magnets together in this manner: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halbach_array

When the water from the pure side spills over at C, it can perhaps turn a waterwheel. Well, the idea is that the increased density of the salt-water will perform reverse osmosis. Have a look at the numbers.