Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => The Environment => Topic started by: neilep on 04/05/2006 17:32:26

Title: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: neilep on 04/05/2006 17:32:26
Hello all,

What a wonderful day !!..

I know our ability to drill deep into the Earth is very very limited...but do you think as our progress continues to dig deeper, that the heat of the planet could be a source of energy ?

whajafink ?

Men are the same as women, just inside out !
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Hadrian on 04/05/2006 17:57:56

In a limited way we already get energy from thermal transfer that could be said
to be energy from beneath the earth. Deep drilling is still a long way off from being able to overcome the many problems that such a venture you are suggesting would have. In theory of course it could work. After all energy is energy. As long as you can tap into it is available.  
   

(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.activity4life.com%2Fphoto%2Fbluegrab.gif&hash=ec0a0b02ac4f955404dff9495fdb2fc2)



What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 04/05/2006 18:37:13
I do remember asking, I think it was somewhere on TNS, but I cannot find it at present, about using geothermal energy from potential volcanoes and super-volcanoes in order to cool them down (while providing us energy), thus delaying their inevitable eruption.

I had hear that one reason is that tapping into all the geysers would lose tourist dollars.

Nonetheless, the underlying fact remains that if you use underground heat to provide energy, it is a finite resource, and will cool the ground below.  I'm not saying it will have much of an impact on the ultimate source of this heat, the core of the Earth; but it could have an impact on the magma immediately beneath the crust, as we may be extracting heat faster than the convection currents from the core can deliver more heat to the surface.

What the consequence of this underground cooling might be is open to anyone's imagination.  It could cause a slight collapse of the local terrain; at worst, it could cause a thickening of the crust.

I am not saying “don't do it”, I'm just saying there is no such thing as a free lunch.



George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: neilep on 04/05/2006 19:29:31
quote:
Originally posted by another_someone

I do remember asking, I think it was somewhere on TNS, but I cannot find it at present, about using geothermal energy from potential volcanoes and super-volcanoes in order to cool them down (while providing us energy), thus delaying their inevitable eruption.



George




You mean...I am on the same wavelength as Le George ?....WOW !!

...Something you can be proud of george ! [:)]

Men are the same as women, just inside out !
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: ukmicky on 04/05/2006 22:02:59
NEIL

You dont need to go deep .

Provided youve got an average sized back garden and your home is insulated properly  then there is enough heat trapped six to eight feet down in the soil to heat your home and hot water all year round. Well provided you dont waste it that is.

The soil down there may not feel hot or warm to touch but theirs enough trapped thermal energy from the sun to heat an average sized home.

Lots of new homes are now using the system and You can even buy a do it yourself kit for your back garden if its big enough containing and a few hundreds of metres of piping that you bury in deep trenches running the lenght of the garden and a heat exchanger.

And the only day to day cost for obtaining this free energy is the electricity to run the water pump, or if you wish you can power it from solar energy or a small wind turbine.

Michael
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: neilep on 04/05/2006 22:33:47
Are you serious Michael ?

That's amazing....thank you very much !

Men are the same as women, just inside out !
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 04/05/2006 23:12:10
I can imagine two problems with extracting heat created by solar heating of the soil.

In the long run, you cannot extract more solar heat from the soil than the sun can replenish.  Although it is true that the soil will allow a more stable heat supply, with less of a day to day, hour by hour, variation than is the case of directly trapping the heat at the surface; but the actual amount of energy cannot be any greater than that which is at the surface itself.

Secondly, if you do extract heat from a couple of metres down, that will inevitably cool the soil itself.  How is this going to effect worms, seeds and bulbs, etc; particularly in the winter months?



George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: JimBob on 07/05/2006 02:50:20
If I had had enough money I would have invested in this 2 years ago

http://www.powertubeinc.com/

It was a local company. Heat exchange is by a patented fluid heated down-hole.




The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open.  -- A. Einstein
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Laith on 07/05/2006 03:03:43
If we dig deep enough to reach the lava would the pressure push the molten lava up like a volcano?

Laith
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 07/05/2006 03:13:17
quote:
Originally posted by Laith
If we dig deep enough to reach the lava would the pressure push the molten lava up like a volcano?



It might be difficult to design drilling equipment that could tolerate those temperatures (although not theoretically impossible).

I don't know the answer (not sure anyone does), but I would think you would almost certainly have a lava flow to the surface, but not an explosive eruption (but then, not all volcanoes are explosive, some just quietly spill out hot lava).

How much lava came to the surface would ofcourse depend on the diameter of the hole, and probably the nature of the convection currents in the magma in that region of the magma that we have drilled down to.



George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Laith on 07/05/2006 03:32:40
what matter could be used for the drilling machine (i.e. what doesnt melt or burn from lava)?

Laith
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: neilep on 07/05/2006 04:01:03
quote:
Originally posted by Laith

what matter could be used for the drilling machine (i.e. what doesnt melt or burn from lava)?

Laith



What about Diamond ? It's melting point is 3820 degrees Kelvin ? Though I realise there is no way enough diamond available.

How hot's your average Magma ?

Men are the same as women, just inside out !
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 07/05/2006 11:27:41
Not sure that even diamond would cope.  On the other hand, it is increasingly possible to fabricate diamond (at present, not good enough for jewellery, but still quite adequately for industrial diamond – there is always debate whether the fabrication process could be enhanced faster if there was not almost a monopolistic control over the diamond market).

On the other hand, you cannot easily make the drill shafts, etc. out of diamond (maybe out of carbon nanotubes, but they, at present, are more expensive than diamond, and would still need to be embedded is some sort of matrix).

I was thinking either of some very aggressive cooling, or using non-contact drilling (e.g. lasers, or acoustic drilling).



George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: neilep on 07/05/2006 14:21:22
With non contact drilling the shaft will need be reinforced somehow unless the nature of the drilling will create a clean & secure surface, effectively creating a solid pipe from the very material you're drilling through.

What about diamond coating ?

I can see how a non contact drilling would be preferable....very little in the way of wear and tear compared to conventional drilling and far more pliable in use than physically drilling hundreds of miles which in no doubt would pose many issues and problems where the drill would have to be retracted.

Men are the same as women, just inside out !
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 07/05/2006 19:00:41
quote:
Originally posted by neilep
With non contact drilling the shaft will need be reinforced somehow unless the nature of the drilling will create a clean & secure surface, effectively creating a solid pipe from the very material you're drilling through.

What about diamond coating ?

I can see how a non contact drilling would be preferable....very little in the way of wear and tear compared to conventional drilling and far more pliable in use than physically drilling hundreds of miles which in no doubt would pose many issues and problems where the drill would have to be retracted.



Two problems I can see with diamond – it is very inflexible, and it is a good conductor of heat.  Even if it were not such a good conductor of heat, the heat would get through eventually, so you would still need some sort of cooling mechanism.

If the cooling was aggressive enough, you could at least ensure that a layer of solid rock remained coating the inside of bore hole, and it would then simply be a matter of preventing the drilling mechanisms from making contact with the still hot, but now solid, wall.

Maybe pump coolant down a channel, and into the space between the drill mechanism and the bore hole wall, and then use acoustics or magnetic fields to push the coolant away from the drill mechanism, thus simultaneously ensuring that hot coolant it kept away from the drill mechanism, and that the drill mechanism stays away from the bore hold walls.

For short durations, plain old ablative coating on the drill mechanism would suffice, but it would not last long, which is why pumping liquid coolant down makes more sense.

Another option would be to have two or three large wheels, or cylinders, around the drill mechanism.  The wheels will be constantly rolling around the perimeter of the bore hole.  They would both smooth out, and compact the side of the bore hole, as well as ensuring the the drill mechanism itself is kept away from the sides of the bore hole.  Because they are large diameter wheels, only a very small proportion of the rim is in contact with the wall at any one time, and since it is constantly rolling, that small part is never in contact for very long, and so will not absorb a great deal of heat.  It will still be necessary to aggressively cool the wheels, but they need to actually have any part that will get that hot, so long as the heat can effectively be dissipated from those parts of the wheel that are not in contact with the wall, so they are cool enough once they come back in contact with the wall.



George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Bass on 08/05/2006 17:42:21
JimBob and Ophiolite, with their experience in the oil patch, could better answer your questions about deep drilling techniques.  Us hard-rockers don't do it as large or as deep.
I've had good luck up to 2000 feet (650 meters for you folks that talk funny) using impregnated bits- bits using various alloys (depending on how hard a metal you need) impregnated with diamond chips.  Not only do you need a coolant, your drilling fluids also need to be high-density to counteract the pressures found at depth.  There's a whole industry built around the manufacture of various "drill muds".
As to lava flowing back up the drill tube- not likely to happen.  Very few magmas are truly "liquid", most are highly viscous combinations of rock, crystals and melts.  This is especially true in contintental land masses, where magma is likely to be more siliceous (which makes them more viscous).

Subduction causes orogeny.
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: neilep on 08/05/2006 17:56:14
Hi Skip..Thanks.

You're so right about the science of 'drill muds'. I never realised how an exact science it is. Fascinating.

In what capacity were you drilling down 2000 feet ?..sounds like ' fun '.

Men are the same as women, just inside out !
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Bass on 08/05/2006 18:31:21
Neil
Back in the early 80's (the good old days, Reagan, the evil empire, etc.) molybdenum was the next holy grail in mining.  I worked on several deep "moly" systems that required extensive drilling.  Don't know if 'fun' is quite the appropriate word, but it was interesting.
I am now revisiting several of these moly systems, not so much for their moly potential (even though the price hit new highs recently), but for precious metals zoned around the moly.

Subduction causes orogeny.
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 08/05/2006 19:18:17
From what I see, the Earth's crust is between 10Km down to 35Km (and even 70Km under the Himalayas) thick.  A bore hole of 650 meters, while impressive if itself, is still only scratching the surface.



George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: JimBob on 09/05/2006 04:00:21
I must agree with Bass. Not likely due to the high pressures which increase viscosity so much. The technique of laser drilling, although promising for depths up to the curent record depth, is not going to change much. This is because of the problem George pointed out with the "drill string" It just isn't much better than high temp steel.



The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open.  -- A. Einstein
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Bass on 09/05/2006 05:32:59
Neil
Just for fun, I once visited the 9000 foot level of an operating mine.  I pity the miners that work at that depth- bad air, excessive heat, rock bursts, scalding water- but I had fun.  The ride down the hoist- basically free-fall in an open cage for 7000 feet, then 2000 feet to slow down and stop, was definitely one of the highlights.  They should probably advertise and charge folks for that ride!
Like I said, just for fun.

Subduction causes orogeny.
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 09/05/2006 11:31:50
quote:
Originally posted by JimBob
I must agree with Bass. Not likely due to the high pressures which increase viscosity so much.


But if you punch a hole down to that depth, unless you maintain substantial pressure within the hole, is it not going to have the consequence of a pressure release?



George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: JimBob on 09/05/2006 21:15:40
We already have these holes to the mantle. They are called mid-ocean ridges and there is no massive pressure release there.



The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open.  -- A. Einstein
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 09/05/2006 22:23:04
quote:
Originally posted by JimBob
We already have these holes to the mantle. They are called mid-ocean ridges and there is no massive pressure release there.



Not comparable.  I am not saying they are irrelevant, only that it is not the same situation.

Mid oceanic ridges push the match up a 10 Km gap, before reaching cold air – that is 10Km of rock pushing back down against the flow of lava.

This is why I allowed the possibility that a bore hole down to the mantle might need positive pressure to hold back the lava.  Otherwise, rather that the lava having to push back against 10Km of basalt, it merely has to push back against 10Km of air.  A significant difference.

Beyond that, we really don't know at first hand what happens 10Km beneath the mid oceanic ridges; we see them only as they arrive at water level.  By comparison, if we drill down to meet the mantle, we would have to be concerned very much about what happens to the drill mechanism at 10Km (or 35 Km, depending on where the bore hole happens to be) beneath the surface, where the crust meets the mantle.

I never suggested that the mantle would gush to the surface, but the fact that the mantle is capable of providing enough pressure to push basalt 10Km up through the crust at mid oceanic ridges clearly indicates that the pressure available there must be comparable to the weight of 10Km of basalt rock.



George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Bass on 10/05/2006 01:03:56
George
Keep in mind that the basalt that erupts at the mid-oceanic ridge is not the same material that you would hit if you drilled down 10 km to the top of the mantle.  The basalt has differentiated- probably several times- before reaching the surface.  Seismic evidence suggests that even the upper mantle behaves like a high-viscosity plastic material (I always imagined a crystal mush).  
Pulling tectonic plates apart at the mid-oceanic plates creates lower pressure zones that allow the more liquid part (basalt) of the magma to ascend, leaving behind the more crystalline portion (peridotite).
Also, the mantle material would be pushing back against a 10km hydrostatic head, not merely air pressure.  The small diameter of any borehole would not release enough pressure to cause an eruption of mantle material.

Subduction causes orogeny.
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: tanian on 13/05/2006 12:46:59
I know this is a bit of a tngent, but I find the idea very interesting.

I was recently reading an article that compared the rotation of the earth and the earths orbit around the sun to a centrifuge.

If you fill a jar with nuts of different sizes, what you eventually get is the nuts seperating according to size- finer particles at the bottom and larger ones at the top. If you spin the jar on a centrifuge the process reverses- large at the bottome, small at the top. The argument goes that the Earth has formed the same way, that sand etc. wouild be the smaller particles and that therefore the denser particles are locked down underneath the earths surface. The argument goes thus- if we have discovered all the elements at this level, then there is no reason to say there arent other elements locked deep within the earth theat we have yet to discover.

Thr Rusians in the good old evil empire days have acchieved the deepest penetration into the earths crust. They used a 2 inch drill bit and spend millions of $ for several years to acchieve this before the project was finally scrapped. I have the figure 13 km in my head but find this ridiculously high. I'm assuming I am wrong but cannot locate the article at present, either way the earth is something far far higher than this in depth.

Anyway, what do you think are the chances of finding unique elemental materials at lower depths?
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 13/05/2006 14:32:49
quote:
Originally posted by tanian
Anyway, what do you think are the chances of finding unique elemental materials at lower depths?



We may well find new minerals at great depth, but unlikely to be new elements.

Bear in mind that we have already synthesised elements up to atomic number 111 under laboratory conditions.  None of the transuranic elements have long term (stability plutonium has a half-life of 80 million years, and neptunium-237 of 2 million years, but other elements can have half-lives measured in milliseconds), and so unless they are being continually renewed (as might be the case in the nuclear furnace at the core or the Earth), then all that would remain (if it ever existed) is a very, very, small proportion of what was there at the time when the Earth was first formed.



George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: tanian on 13/05/2006 17:47:32
Essentially ultra-rare items and/or absurdly high proportions of lead then?
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: pignut on 09/06/2006 16:16:57
On a slightly different tack, the earth is very big, very heavy, spinning and orbiting the sun at an extremely high speed....maybe we just need to attach the earth to a very big dynamo :-)
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 09/06/2006 17:59:06
quote:
Originally posted by pignut

On a slightly different tack, the earth is very big, very heavy, spinning and orbiting the sun at an extremely high speed....maybe we just need to attach the earth to a very big dynamo :-)



It already is – that is what is generating the Earth's magnetic field.



George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Matthewsb on 14/06/2006 17:40:52
quote:
Originally posted by neilep

Hello all,

What a wonderful day !!..

I know our ability to drill deep into the Earth is very very limited...but do you think as our progress continues to dig deeper, that the heat of the planet could be a source of energy ?

whajafink ?

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Matthewsb on 14/06/2006 17:44:16
That is a good topic. We need more scientists to do R and D on the Energy inside the earth and how to tap into it.
Matthews Bantsijang
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: JimBob on 15/06/2006 17:56:26
See current discussion under "Geology/Paleontology" http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4559



The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open.  -- A. Einstein
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Atomic-S on 17/06/2006 08:14:27
quote:
I was thinking either of some very aggressive cooling
If the well requires very aggressive cooling, then it may be ready to produce power already!  Which can be commenced while drilling continues for even more power.

quote:
With non contact drilling the shaft will need be reinforced somehow unless the nature of the drilling will create a clean & secure surface, effectively creating a solid pipe from the very material you're drilling through.
Chilled lava might do the job.

quote:
Maybe pump coolant down a channel, and into the space between the drill mechanism and the bore hole wall, and then use acoustics or magnetic fields to push the coolant away from the drill mechanism, thus simultaneously ensuring that hot coolant it kept away from the drill mechanism, and that the drill mechanism stays away from the bore hold walls.
If the coolant is being pumped in and out, (In through the pipe, and out around it) does this not take care of all difficulties?

quote:
Another option would be to have two or three large wheels, or cylinders, around the drill mechanism. The wheels will be constantly rolling around the perimeter of the bore hole.
Like roller bearings.
quote:
They would both smooth out, and compact the side of the bore hole, as well as ensuring the the drill mechanism itself is kept away from the sides of the bore hole.
Is this for thermal purposes or to reduce frictional wear?
quote:
Because they are large diameter wheels, only a very small proportion of the rim is in contact with the wall at any one time, and since it is constantly rolling, that small part is never in contact for very long, and so will not absorb a great deal of heat. It will still be necessary to aggressively cool the wheels, but they need to actually have any part that will get that hot, so long as the heat can effectively be dissipated from those parts of the wheel that are not in contact with the wall, so they are cool enough once they come back in contact with the wall.
. I am not quite sure I understand this; in particular, just what coolant will be present, and how it will be circulated. It would seem to me that if coolant is pumped in through the drill pipe and out around it, this basically eliminates all questions of overheating; and that if the heat is so great that it does not, then these rolling cylinders will not be of much use in any case, because the temperature at any one depth will be nearly uniform at all radii from the axis of the pipe to the wall of the hole.


Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: realmswalker on 20/06/2006 22:50:52
what about a laser based drill?
It could reduce the rock to gaseous particles that could then be sucked out the top.
it would also melt the walls so they would be stable.
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: JimBob on 21/06/2006 16:36:14
Laser drilling is in development. The drilling mud (fluid) is already the first or second most expensive cost of drilling, after total rig costs - crew and machine rental, a package deal. The drilling mud does four things, cool the bit and the drill string, lubricates the bit and, because of the high viscosity of the mud, brings the rock chips up. It also exerts a hydrostatic pressure on the porous rocks to keep the fluid in the rocks from coming to the surface

The typical drill bit is a 3-cone bit that turns and chips away rock as it turns. Drilling mud is pumped down the inside of the drill pipe, jetted out of the nozzels on the upper part of the bit and back up the outside of the drilling pipe (pictures on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_bit)

Drill pipe is made of steel and a substitue has yet to be found. The problem is that with all current technology, a huge amount of weight is needed to cause the bit to chip the rocks. Another material will not put the weight on the bit that steel does.




The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open.  -- A. Einstein
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Atomic-S on 04/07/2006 02:01:44
So according to this, when drilling into hot material, the drill mud should cool it, rendering it solid and therefore drillable using conventional means?
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: JimBob on 05/07/2006 16:23:08
I very much doubt drilling mud would be capable of cooling much above 350 degrees F. The drilling fluid (even if oil-based) would vaporize very quickly, causing a gas bubble down-hole. This is a very bad thing. The rapidly expanding gas from the phase change causes the mud above it to be blown back up the hole and the well becomes unstable. People get killed on the surface when something like this happens. Not many peoole in their right mind would even consider continued drilling to be possible, much less safe.



The mind is like a parachute. It works best when open.  -- A. Einstein
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: heikki on 10/07/2006 06:53:34
[:)]

Hi.

We cannot make deep hole to center of earth by usin todays drilling-systems so that drilling-machine is surface and we use long drilling-rod and diamond or etc. drilling-head.

What we need?

Drilling machine which can go down the hole like canal-hole (england-france) drilling maker but directly vertical direction.
Also it need vertical lift to carried up  that drilled stuff and drilling equipments to maintenance for while( if machine is full automatic version).

Scientifical it is quite interesting and important project, but technical, is it possible? Also what happend if under drilling tunnel-hole is big pressure which comes out through tunnelhole?

Lift-tunnelhole-drilling-machine, vertical direction, full automatic.

How long it take to make deep hole (squaremeter 25m2 or something size to center of earth, hole distance 6500km=6500000meter?

Hmm. If machine can make 1m/24h then one year it goes 365m and ten year it goes 3650m = 3,65km. Diameter of earth ball is ab.13000km.
 
13000km/3,65km=3561year/2=1780year.

So, it speed is 1m/24h then year 3786 drilling head is center the earth.

Lift high is 6500km = 6 500 000m? Technics is problem because todays higher lift is probably few hundred meter.

Hmm. Unpossible work to do, i think.

 [:)]
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Atomic-S on 19/07/2006 08:23:53
quote:
I very much doubt drilling mud would be capable of cooling much above 350 degrees F. The drilling fluid (even if oil-based) would vaporize very quickly, causing a gas bubble down-hole. This is a very bad thing. The rapidly expanding gas from the phase change causes the mud above it to be blown back up the hole and the well becomes unstable. People get killed on the surface when something like this happens. Not many peoole in their right mind would even consider continued drilling to be possible, much less safe.
Well, now let's see: if we have that kind of steam pressure available, it suggests the possibility of capturing it to drive a turbine. Now of course drilling mud may not be the ideal fluid for driving a turbine, but is there some way we could get around that problem? Would there be some way of circulating drilling mud in the lower portions of the hole, where resistance to pressure is most needed, but then, at a depth somewhat lower than that at which the water could vaporize, put it through some kind of a heat exchanger so as to transfer the heat to plain water for the rest of the trip up the hole. That circuit would be handled as a pressurized steam system, and connect into a turbine, so that geothermal energy would be harnessed even while drilling was in progress.
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Atomic-S on 19/07/2006 08:29:41
Heikki: The major problems in attempting to drill to the center of the earth are pressure and temperature. The Earth's mantle is fluid, extremely pressurized, and the temperature when you really get down to serious depths is terriffic. The pressure problem might be handlable by counterbalancing it with a fluid of some kind, as is already practiced; however the temperature problem when you get well down toward the core is much more formidable: I believe the temp at the core is believed to be some 13,000 F, hotter than the surface of the sun. (If this figure is in error, somebody please tell me). Realistically, I believe that drilling to the core is not an option, but for geothermal purposes we do not have to go that deep.
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 19/07/2006 18:03:14
Would there not also be problems of radiation as one got very close to the core, and also electric fields?




George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: diegostation on 09/08/2006 07:04:16
If we use energy from earth's core until it runs out and the core freezes the impact would be the death of all live forms on earth cause the planet would lose its magnetic field
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: another_someone on 09/08/2006 08:12:07
quote:
Originally posted by diegostation
If we use energy from earth's core until it runs out and the core freezes the impact would be the death of all live forms on earth cause the planet would lose its magnetic field



It is true of all energy sources that when we use it we deny others from using it, and it will ultimately run out.

At present usage, there is an enormous amount of energy in the Earth's core, and it will take us a very long time to use it up – by which time, lots of other things will have been able to kill us anyway.  Ofcourse, once we start tapping in to such large energy sources, we will probably quickly devise more energy hungry applications to utilise all of that extra energy that is available, and so speed up the cooling of the planet further.

On the other hand, I cannot see the technology required for extracting energy from the Earth's  core as being any easier than many other sources of energy, possibly from other planets.



George
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: syhprum on 26/08/2006 10:36:14
I think the problem is mostly economic, gold miners are prepared to go down 3000 meters where the geothemal energy is only a nuisence not a useful source of power.
Close to the UK there is an abundent soucre of Geothermal power (Iceland) and I hope to see the day when it is exported to us via a superconduting cable but I do not know if the the cost will ever bejustified.

syhprum
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: neilep on 05/09/2006 17:55:04
Has anyone seen the film The Core..( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Core)..they used the novel idea of sound/light waves to blast the rocks.....just like they use when getting rid of kidney stones !!...obviously it's far fetched but do you think teher could be any serious science in it ?

Men are the same as women, just inside out !
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: Karen W. on 05/09/2006 19:31:48
Interesting movie, but I do not know how much could be based on scientific technology! Maybe to some extent though, maybe basic concepts!

Karen
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: lotusbunny on 05/09/2006 19:54:47
Excellent film, good taste! Especially with the gorgeous Mr Eckhart, lol

I think you are talking about Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL). Which shock waves that are created outside the body travel through the skin and tissues until they hit the denser stones. The stones break down into small particles.

A very good question, I would think, personally as a laymay, that it does sound feasible for the future as the basic principles are already in use. For example the DOE is using shockwaves to break up waste material, using a machine called an HP3T, and for possible land mine detection. So the use of shockwaves seem to be in amongst the latest science and technolgy realm.
But don't listen to me, i know very little about physics [:)]

I hope someone with more knowledge posts something on this, I would be interest too.

Debs
Title: Re: The earth as a source of energy ?
Post by: neilep on 06/09/2006 01:12:02
Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) !!!..oh That !!!..of course....just rolls off the tongue [:D]...thank you so much Debs.

I really appreciate your insight into this technology and like you... I hope that someone with more knowledge (in MY case...a cabbage will do ![:)])...will come here and add to this interesting subject.

THANKS DEBS


Men are the same as women, just inside out !