IP: re The Little Engine That Could Be: button size micro gas turbin e

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> From: Neil Hunt <nhunt () netflix com>
> To: "'farber () cis upenn edu'" <farber () cis upenn edu>
>
>
> IPers may find it interesting, I hope...
>
> Neil/.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Neil Hunt [mailto:nhunt () nhunt org]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 7:48 PM
> To: farber () cis upenn edu
> Subject: RE: The Little Engine That Could Be: button size micro gas
> turbine
>
>
> Interesting...
>
> A laptop "battery" turbine with 100g of Propane
> would have an uppper limit of about 1kWh of energy
> assuming (100% efficient conversion).
>
> More practically, I'm going to guess 10% efficiency
> for about 100Wh.
>
> That would power a laptop for about 6 hours.
> It is about equivalent to 300 AA batteries.
>
> I think it would also have about the explosive power
> of a small hand-grenade.
>
> I wonder how the airlines would feel about that?
>
> Incidentally, the combustion of that 100g of Propane
> will consume the oxygen in about 78 cu-ft of air
> at sea level or about 0.2 cu-ft/min in a 6 hour burn.
> FAA documents suggest that an absolute minimum
> ventilation rate of .24 cu-ft/min is required to
> sustain a sedentary adult.
> So presumably the ventilation on an airline would
> have to be substantially upgraded too!
>
>
> Neil/.


For archives see:
http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/