Hi Michael-
Interesting thought - but induction might actually split enough of the
vapor for this to occur:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/276060/nuclear_plant_cooling_tower_implosion/
OK. That was a bit of attempted humor... but come to think of it...
there are a number of ways to approach this, if we can get away from the
heat engine limitation -- since we do have 'free' mass transport of
charge (maybe)... and induction is not only interesting... it works both
ways. Maybe.
What about using induction for the power removal? i.e. by placing
induction coils in the throat of the tower - think about the equivalent
amps passing through. Is simulated AC possible? Even if the average
potential were a fractional volt...
Cooling towers used to reject heat from the circulating water of power
plants move lots more mass than many may realize. From a quick googling,
it seems that circulation rate of cooling water in a typical 1000 MW
power plant with a cooling tower amounts to about ~100,000 cubic meters
of H2O an hour ~400,000+ U.S. gallons or 3 million pounds per minute.
The makeup rate is typically 5 percent which all works down to about
2,500 lbs per sec of vapor through the tower - and with roughly 10^24
molecules per lb .... Wow several hundred gigamp-equivalent (based on mass)?
If but one in every 1,000 molecules of water vapor picks up an
exciton-type of charge (fractional volt) ... and one is able to simulate
AC by some method, we are still left with... who knows?
Anyway - I agree that the solar tower makes little sense - but this is
too interesting to write off as a direct correlation to that.
Jones
