I agree that I am pretty skeptical of this claim. It's not entirely off the wall and easy to dismiss out of hand, but one of my big questions is why hasn't tapping barometric pressure differences to extract energy been proposed in the past by physicists, meteorologist and other interested parties?
Every time there is a natural difference in anything or an opportunity to extract energy from the natural environment, there is always a proposal to tap that energy in some crude manner dating back many decades and sometimes even into earlier centuries. Why isn't there also a history for this idea? It makes me wonder if it is viable?!? This is certainly a claim that needs to be proven before being taken seriously.
In the defense of those who propose tapping barometric pressure differences to extract energy, there might be some explanations for the lack of a historical context. Mainly, since fossil fuels have been relatively inexpensive for over a century, there really hasn't been that much of an impetus to search for exotic new forms of energy. Of course, the dynamics of the energy market are changing in the early 21st Century and causing a more serious examination of energy alternatives, perhaps giving exotic ideas like this a time to be examined. Also, some ideas that seemed half-baked and impractical in earlier times, become practical with advancements in technology (some completely unrelated like material sciences) and changes in the prices for raw materials (such as competitors like fossil fuels).
It is possible that they will find that tapping barometric pressure differences to extract energy is impractical due to physical limitations, such as the interaction of air within the pipe it is contained in (resistance) and current materials being contemplated for such a proposed energy system. But what if a new pipe material or coating was developed as a result of an advancement in material sciences (nanotechnology might provide this breakthrough) that lessened air coherence and resistence within a pipe tremendously, thus allowing the air to flow more freely through the system, perhaps in an efficient enough manner to allow it to generated electricity as proposed?
What if another renewable source of energy such as solar was used synergistically to make the system operate as proposed to generate electricity from barometric pressure differences? A system in Arizona could easily tap solar energy to perhaps enhance the air flow and make the system work more efficiently. Of course, the ultimate cost would determine if such an enhancement was practical.
All I'm saying is that this idea might seem hard to accept at the moment; I am certainly skeptical of this claim for a number of reasons. But there is no reason to think that it might never work as related technology advances and more refinements are made. We all know there is A LOT of energy in weather systems, it is not unreasonable to think that someday mankind might figure out how to tap that energy. Certainly, if fossil fuels actually start running out in coming decades, some of the more exotic alternative energy proposals might get a second look in light of the new energy cost struture. |
