Where does most of your energy come from?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the sources of energy in local communities, exploring various perspectives on energy generation and consumption. Participants share personal anecdotes, hypothetical scenarios, and insights into local energy infrastructure, touching on both serious and humorous aspects of energy sources.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants mention personal sources of energy, such as coffee and social interactions.
  • One participant humorously claims to derive energy from locking people in a computer simulation and harvesting their body heat, prompting a hypothetical discussion about the feasibility of such an idea.
  • A participant reflects on the cosmic origins of energy, linking it to the Big Bang and hydrogen clouds, while also humorously mentioning cake.
  • Discussion includes local energy generation methods, with one participant noting their campus cogeneration plant runs on oil and coal, while another mentions the impact of inversion layers on air quality.
  • Some participants discuss the local utility's energy sourcing strategies, including reliance on the grid and the predominance of natural gas in their energy mix.
  • One participant highlights Maine's energy landscape, noting its hydroelectric capacity and cogeneration agreements with paper mills.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of views on energy sources, with no clear consensus on the most significant or preferred sources. The discussion includes both serious and humorous contributions, indicating a mix of perspectives on energy generation.

Contextual Notes

Some claims about energy sources depend on local infrastructure and regulations, and there are unresolved questions about the efficiency and practicality of hypothetical energy harvesting methods discussed.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in energy generation, local utility practices, and humorous takes on energy sources may find this discussion engaging.

Where does most of your energy come from in your community?

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Kevin_Axion
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Where does most your energy come from in your local community?
 
Computer science news on Phys.org


Coffee.
 


I came in this thread to tell where my energy comes from ...

It's from other people around me :biggrin:
 


I get my energy from locking people up in a computer simulation and by harvesting their body heath.
 


micromass said:
I get my energy from locking people up in a computer simulation and by harvesting their body heath.
That's really really evil.

Hypothetically, though, how would I go about doing that? Hypothetically.
 


Ultimately my energy came from a giant cloud of hydrogen that collapsed about 4 billion years ago. Or the big bang. Whichever is more "in" these days. Oh, and cake. Mmmm cake...
 


our campus cogen plant runs on both oil and coal, it has two burners and two boilers.

it sucks when the inversion layer traps all that crap down low.
 


zoobyshoe said:
That's really really evil.

Hypothetically, though, how would I go about doing that? Hypothetically.

It's simple, you need only to build a 3D digitizer like in tron. It requires six synchronous lasers and a magnetic trap. Optical tweezers really makes the job a breeze for coding protein configurations (otherwise you have to interface your machine with some kind of x-ray crystallography table).

As far as I know, it's still in the experimental phase though. You have to spend more energy running the machine than you can actually harvest from your victims. But it breaks more even than cold fusion.
 


Methane from cow gas... hehe...

Rhody...
 
  • #10


micromass said:
I get my energy from locking people up in a computer simulation and by harvesting their body heath.

:bugeye: *clears throat*
 
  • #11
The local utility solds its generation as part of the deregulation strategy imposed by the state. Now they buy off the 'grid', which has a mix of generation.
 
  • #12
Considering my energy comes off the nationwide grid the lions share of it is gas. Nice, expensive, extortionately priced gas...
 
  • #13
Most of Maine's generating capacity is in the form of Hydro. There is a large oil-powered plant, and I think all of the paper mills have cogeneration agreements with the utilities. Maine is a net exporter of electricity, and we could probably supply all our own power with hydro without having to feed the grid.
 

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