John Collins wrote;
> Hydro-electricity taps gravity, my grandfather clock taps gravity,..
Ross Tessien replied;
> No they don't. Hydro does not tap into energy from gravity.
> It taps into energy from the sun heating and vaporizing the water.
Wrong Ross, hydropower is the flow of the water that is being pushed by
the downflow of gravity (or the attraction to the earth, your choice),
how the water got up there is another matter ENTIRELY.
Ross also wrote;
> The grand father clock taps into the energy of your hand that
> wound the spring, and your hand tapped into energy from the sun
> that grew plants.
Granted, correct on that one, the hand did store the energy in the
spring that is released by the motion of the pendulum, the rest is
semantics.
The point John was making is IMO absolutely correct, gravity influx can
be tapped, no sense in nitpicking it to death. The trick is how do we
tap it in a solid state form that would act like a paddlewheel in a flow
of water whether it be a stream moving to sea level BY GRAVITY, or a
waterfall running off a precipice under the flow of GRAVITY.
Hardware wins, not there yet, which is why we need to stay focused on
HOW, moreso than WHY.
-- Jerry Wayne Decker / jdecker@keelynet.com http://keelynet.com / "From an Art to a Science" Voice : (214) 324-8741 / FAX : (214) 324-3501 KeelyNet - PO BOX 870716 - Mesquite - Republic of Texas - 75187