Horace wrote: > These people never heard of cathodic protection systems? > You can just bet the ground interface is not aluminum. > The energy providing consumable here is probably aluminum. > Aluminum is a non-organic BTW.
Actually, there might be something to this, other than a simple electrolytic cell. I can't imagine anyone being stupid enough to make such a mistake. What I was thinking of was electric current generated by a fluid pressure difference across a porous material. A year or so ago, some Canadian scientists discovered (re- discovered) that water forced through a microscopically porous plug would generate an electric current. This was actually a repeat of Farday's experiment of around 1840. When you think of what must be the enormous pressures it must take for trees to force fluids up and down their capillary xylem and phloem, there is a possibility that a useful potential exists between the top of a tree and the ground. Whether or not significant amounts of energy can be extracted from this is another issue. I guess it remains for some adventurous Vort to stick a stainless steel fork into a top branch of a tree and another such fork into the ground and measure the potential. Stick a fork in it! M. _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web!
