From: David Roberson
Jones, are you saying in simple terms that any thermophotovoltaic device
immersed within a constant temperature environment saturated by infrared
radiation will not produce electrical power? Does this imply that there must
be a sink of some sort that is of lower temperature for these to function?
YES - for normal heat engines - but Dave – you well know that there must be a
sink ! … at least normally, so why do I suspect that your are holding something
back?
… or should I rephrase it: can anyone please show us proof of any non-imaginary
device that works without a sink… and pulleeeze don’t bring up the
Quentron/Hardcastle BS or the Russian scam where the incubator is supplying a
strong 50 Hz signal.. There are plenty of imaginary devices that claim to work
on paper, but do not work in practice. Even the Qu tube needs a sink.
OK – let me rephrase that with one big caveat: yes - the “virtual sink” – and
yes, if something like the Nickel-titanium endothermic effect seen by Ahern and
others is correct – then that is indeed a kind of virtual sink. But that
virtual sink does not seem to part of the original suggestion, as I understand
it, and bears little relationship to thermophotovoltaics. Also it only works
way above ambient.
It is understood that the energy remaining within the closed environment will
be reduced by the electrical energy removed.
If and when that happens, and there is power going out - then an instantaneous
thermal drop happens on the supply side of the device following which, it then
becomes the sink, which stops the flow. End of story without a persistent
virtual sink. But the problem with a virtual sink (of the kind which has been
demonstrated) is that the “gap” is still always way above ambient – so it is by
nature lossy and only a differential gap. A good analogy is the so-called
“negative resistor” which is negative for only a small part of the spectrum and
should be called a negative differential resistor. It is far from gainful.
In the end - if you want to find a practical and gainful heat-to-electricity
device close to ambient, then provide the virtual sink well below ambient. That
may be difficult, but Dirac permits it – and I would never argue with PAM.
