Since the late 1980s, there have been several attempts to investigate the possibility of harvesting lightning energy . A single lightning brings a relatively large amount of energy (about 5 billion joules or about energy stored in 145 liters of gasoline). However, this energy is concentrated in small locations and passed over a very short period of time (microseconds); therefore, very high electrical power is involved. 5 billion joules more than 10 microseconds equal to 5 ÃÆ' - 10 14 (or 500 trillion) watts. Because lightning varies in voltage and current, the more average calculations are 1 ÃÆ' - 10 10 (or 10 billion) watts. It has been proposed that the energy contained in lightning is used to produce hydrogen from water, to utilize energy from rapid heating of water due to lightning, or to use a group of lightning arrestors to utilize strikes, either directly or by converting them for heating or mechanical energy, or using inductors which is far enough away that a safe fraction of energy can be captured.
Video Harvesting lightning energy
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A technology capable of harvesting lightning energy needs to be able to quickly capture the high forces involved in lightning. Several schemes have been proposed, but the ever-changing energy involved in each lightning generates a lightning power harvested from impractical ground-based stems - too high, will damage storage, too low and may not work. In addition, lightning is sporadic, and therefore energy must be collected and stored; it is difficult to convert high-voltage electrical power to low-voltage power that can be stored.
In the summer of 2007, an alternative energy company named Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc. (AEHI) tested a method for capturing energy in lightning. The design for the system has been purchased from an Illinois inventor named Steve LeRoy, who is reported to have been able to light a 60-watt light bulb for 20 minutes using energy taken from small, artificial lightning. This method involves a tower, a means to separate most of the incoming energy, and a capacitor to store the remainder. According to Donald Gillispie, CEO of AEHI, they "can not make it work," although "given enough time and money, you might be able to improve this... it's not black magic, it's really math and science, and it can happen. "
According to Martin A. Uman, co-director of the Lightning Research Laboratory at the University of Florida and a leading authority on lightning, a lightning attack, while fast and bright, contains less energy, and dozens of lightning towers like those used in systems tested by AEHI will required to operate five 100 watt bulbs for one year. When interviewed by The New York Times he stated that energy in lightning storms is comparable to atomic bombs, but trying to harvest lightning energy from the ground is "hopeless".
Another big challenge when trying to harvest energy from lightning is the impossibility of predicting when and where the storm will occur. Even during a storm, it is very difficult to tell where exactly the lightning will strike.
The most frequent lightning strikes occur in northwestern Venezuela and in the far east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Guinness Book of World Records list of Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo as having 28 flashes flashing every minute.
Maps Harvesting lightning energy
Plasma-directed channel
In order to facilitate lightning retrieval, laser-induced plasma channels (LIPC) can theoretically be used to allow lightning to strike in predictable locations. A high power laser can be used to form ionised gas columns, which will act as atmospheric channels for the discharge of lightning electricity, which will direct lightning to the earth station for harvest. (Discovery of News Lighting Controls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBzxn2LEJoE)
Teramobile, an international project jointly initiated by French-German collaboration CNRS (France) and DFG (Germany), has managed to trigger electrical activity in the lightning cloud by ultrashort lasers. A large amount of power is required, 5 terawatts, during short pulse duration. For now, lightning-lashed applications are using energy to divert lightning and prevent damage, not harvest lightning energy. "
See also
- Lightning Distribution
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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