In reply to Nick Palmer's message of Thu, 7 Apr 2005 20:14:11 +0100: Hi, [snip] >A restrained British WOW!! This flying windmill concept looks really exciting. >I'd heard speculation about kites in the jet stream before but there were >always problems with the weight of the tether/power line. I particularly like >that it can fly up to altitude under control and back down for maintenance... >They suggest that they are having difficulty attracting venture capital at the >moment. They do not mention the voltage gradient that can occur in the >atmosphere on their website - anyone with more knowledge than I care to >speculate on whether this would be a help or hindrance?
I assume that if one uses DC, and matches the orientation in the atmosphere, it would be a help (but not much, because the kite wouldn't really be high enough to tap the "electrosphere", hence the current would be too low). Regards, Robin van Spaandonk All SPAM goes in the trash unread.
