Google-Funded Research Confirms Green Energy Source

[Guest]

The Geothermal Laboratory of the Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas said that it has discovered a coast-to-coast geothermal resources.

Google-Funded Research Confirms Green Energy Source : Read more

 

[Onus]

This is extremely cool (or perhaps very hot). An underground power facility would be virtually impossible for terrorists to destroy (disconnect, yes; destroy, no), and, if large enough, could even be made self-sufficient with a large cavern hollowed out for food production. Earthquakes would be an obvious concern, but I doubt one would be sited anywhere near a fault line.

 

[custodian-1]

Wonder if the energy company's will invest in something like this. Seems like there would be a good return.

 

[eyemaster]

There's lots of energy around us, in the sea, in the ground, in the air. The only trouble is how do you convert it to usable electricity?

 

[masterbinky]

What happens to those systems when you take electricity from them? And as for the geothermal heat that is all coming from nuclear reactions in the earth, why not directly make use of those reactions, then reprocess the fuel to remove the used up parts and bury the leftovers back where they came from? hmm?

 

[internetlad]

[citation][nom]jtt283[/nom]This is extremely cool (or perhaps very hot). An underground power facility would be virtually impossible for terrorists to destroy (disconnect, yes; destroy, no), and, if large enough, could even be made self-sufficient with a large cavern hollowed out for food production. Earthquakes would be an obvious concern, but I doubt one would be sited anywhere near a fault line.[/citation]

I don't think this guy understands how geothermal power plants work.

 

[nosacredcow]

@ jtt283

The facility would be above ground. It involves pumping water into the ground and pumping back out to heat exchangers above ground.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_geothermal_system

But it isn't anything that would be easily accessible for terrorists or to damage and by the very definition would not instill terror in anyone. It's why terrorists go for "people" not "things". No creation of caves to grow things.

 

[Au_equus]

[citation][nom]masterbinky[/nom]What happens to those systems when you take electricity from them? And as for the geothermal heat that is all coming from nuclear reactions in the earth, why not directly make use of those reactions, then reprocess the fuel to remove the used up parts and bury the leftovers back where they came from? hmm?[/citation]
geothermal heat is not derived from nuclear reactions, fusion or fission. read a science book

 

[internetlad]

[citation][nom]masterbinky[/nom]What happens to those systems when you take electricity from them? And as for the geothermal heat that is all coming from nuclear reactions in the earth, why not directly make use of those reactions, then reprocess the fuel to remove the used up parts and bury the leftovers back where they came from? hmm?[/citation]

apparently the inside of the earth is now the inside of the sun.

 

[Cazalan]

Nice, put the oil drillers back to work. They ran out of places in the USA to drill.

 

[house70]

Sounds like a good project to kill by the Big Oil/Big Coal lobbies. That's what they're for.
Using geothermal is like using tidal energy: practically unlimited, non-pollutant and with constant potential. In the first case, use the heat of the planet, in the second, the gravitational pull.
Why unlimited? Because if any of these happen to "run out", we have bigger problems than energy.

 

[dgingeri]

I've been talking about this idea for over 20 years now, ever since I learned how Yellowstone is a supervolcano and how it was formed. It's nice to see someone is actually doing something about it. Of course, nobody would listen to me about it.

 

[Onus]

I know how conventional geothermal systems work. In this case, there is a lot of heat available to turn water to steam, turning conventional turbines to produce the power. I don't think you can do this all the way from the surface, but from few km down, quite possibly.
It would be possible to build a small community that way, either producing its own food, or selling the power it produces for resources from above ground.

 

[dgingeri]

[citation][nom]Cazalan[/nom]Nice, put the oil drillers back to work. They ran out of places in the USA to drill.[/citation]

only because the eco-nuts keep stopping them. Did you know the US has more current oil reserves (in Alaska, Colorado, and Wyoming) than the entire middle east? That's OK. let the middle east and South America run their oil out first supplying us, then we'll have our reserves just as the price starts to skyrocket. We'll wind up richer for it.

 

[Muffinthundergrunt]

[citation][nom]dgingeri[/nom]I've been talking about this idea for over 20 years now, ever since I learned how Yellowstone is a supervolcano and how it was formed. It's nice to see someone is actually doing something about it. Of course, nobody would listen to me about it.[/citation]

I head they feared you would sue them and were waiting on you to develop it.

 

[dgingeri]

[citation][nom]internetlad[/nom]apparently the inside of the earth is now the inside of the sun.[/citation]

Actually, he's right, sort of. The center of the earth is warmed by nuclear fission, just like current nuclear reactors.

In fact, the guys who developed the technology behind current nuclear reactors were inspired by the way the earth works, and designed a reactor that works like the earth and can't melt down. It's actually in a constant state of meltdown, and they just harness that. The reactors that use water and graphite control rods are old technology. Any reactor using the most current technology literally can't melt down, and in order to expose nuclear material to the area around it, terrorists would have to position a bomb the size of a truck right next to it.

http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/008186.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten_Salt_Reactor

 

[drapacioli]

I won't pretend to have done any sort of research on this, but can't tapping the earth's geothermal energy cause undesirable changes in our planet's core? Or is this too small a scale for any real impact to be made?

 

[blurr91]

[citation][nom]au_equus[/nom]geothermal heat is not derived from nuclear reactions, fusion or fission. read a science book[/citation]

What is the ultimate source of heat in earth's core?

 

[funguseater]

Maybe we can combat Global Warming by leeching Heat from the crust...

 

[svdb]

100 years after everybody else, Americans discover the use of geothermal energy... what an accomplishment!