In reply to Jack Cole's message of Fri, 22 Aug 2014 16:40:40 -0500: Hi, [snip] >If we assume BLP's SunCell works as advertised, it would seem to me that >they need to design something better for the ignition process than pouring >particles over the rollers. I don't see how that could ever be made >reliable, but that might just be a limitation of my imagination. > >It seems to me that electrolysis is a necessary part of the process >(although happening with a small amount of water). It seems like an >alternative process would be an electrolytic cell with electrodes made out >of the correct material. This would result in conversion to thermal >energy, which would probably be less efficient than converting light to >electricity if that's the goal. But if heat is the goal then I think it >should be considered--in particular if it would be more reliable. I >realize I am making a lot of assumptions (even that it works), but it would >seem to be worth exploring. > >I ordered a spot welder recently, which should arrive soon, and I will >attempt some experiments. It won't have the same level of power that BLP's >has, so it may not work. In one video, Mills did note that in the >experiment without the rollers that 3KW or 5J was enough to ignite the >process. This is an 8KVA model, so maybe something interesting can happen. > >Best regards, >Jack Note that 5 J implies only supplying 3 kW for 1.7 mS. So you will need either some electronic means of rapidly switching the power, or a fast mechanical way. Perhaps the rollers themselves can be made to do the switching - alternating conducting and insulating strips, then rotate at the correct speed?
Regards, Robin van Spaandonk http://rvanspaa.freehostia.com/project.html
