After looking around for new and better things I have this short list of things that I am looking forward to.

Some of them are real and some of them are just wishful thinking.

The Amorphous/Vitreous Metal Core Power Transformer. It can reduce power losses in transformers. So compared to a Silicon Steel transformers 99.4 percent efficiency you could have 99.6 percent. Doesn't sound like a big deal until you look at the loss percent. That is around 30% now and maybe 50% later reduction in losses.

The Vanadium Redox Flow Battery. If you ever run out of power you can refill the battery with powered electrolyte. Most of the time you would just want to make sure you had large enough electrolyte tanks. The missing piece to make almost any off grid solution like solar or wind work nearly seamlessly is storage and I think I like this as a solution.

Subterranean High Voltage Grid. Why are we still putting power lines on big towers and running them over thousands of Acres? Tunnel them. And while we are at it, try lower loss conduction schemes. Ultrahighvoltage Xray resonant conduction tubing. Maybe even superconductors.

Farads for a penny. Dielectric values in the thousands, nanometer charge separations, high surface area densities. Any of these have ssemed likely for a major breakthrough for a long long time. Probably just as gamechanging would be a relatively voltage insensitive dielectric material or treatment that would allow us to raise the capacitors voltage ratings by even a 100 volts for common use. I suspect that this might involve some type of internal electret layer formations sort of like the capacitive equivalent of a Counter EMF.

The Sinode. It is an inverter and we have inverters already so I guess this one is invented. But I think I would like to see inverters simplifed to three pins, DC in, ground, and AC out. Basically a reverse diode. It Sinusoids instead of rectifys. I also picture it as capacitative instead of inductive.

In case I have not gone far enough out into science fiction, I would like to see self organizing complex systems developed. Making robots about as complex as ants that do things as complex as ants do is not that far away. Useful? Think of having 50 km by 100 km in a desert where these ants are busy, and all they do is build copies of themself plus a farm of solar cells that they maintain - so providing a few Gigawatts of clean power, just for starters at least.

I just feel like one more because I am having too much fun.

I want to see IC's that do interferometry. These would be useful for filtering and comparators. They would also be the analog part needed to make things like holographics, voice recognition, video/facial recognition, and possibly much more advanced organic processing as simple in electronics as they are in brain tissue. In fact they would be very likely to be a key to the inteface that would let you plug your brain into a computer, and then we are all digital - and quite possibly - God forgive us all Immortals.

 

The Sinode in a 3 pin package would rule.

I would like to see self replicating robots take over the world...that would rule. or THEY would rule.

 

Vitreous Core transformers are already being used. China is using them in their power grids. Don't now about in the US but probably on larger scale transformers where efficiency is important. 30-50% reduction in losses doesn't sound as good when you realize how efficient existing transformers already are. You're only talking an extra couple percent overall efficiency in a lot of cases.


Vandium redox batteries are already here as well, not practical for a home users right now because I don't know of any companies that make batteries on that scale. Shouldn't be too much longer before you see them more readily available though.

Underground power grids have a lot of downsides to them.

What's a Sinode?I can't even see a single reference to it on Google at least as an electric component.

 

I have never heard of a sinode, I thought Potato Pudding made it up. I just think that would be an incredible device.

I am using a microinverter now for solar panels made by envision. They connect directly to each panel, then each inverter is connected together. It inverts at the panel and also matches phase with the mains, so no need for other equipment.

and at around $130us per inverter, not bad.

 

How many watts can each inverter handle?

 

Sorry, its not envision, its enphase, and 230W is the recommended input. It also does MPPT to handle shadows and load changes. The real neat thing is unlike a string inverter that gets all weird when you have part or the array shadowed, these inverters use MPPT on each panel to buck or boost to match voltage, then match phase with the mains.

Read up. They are great.

One thing I have yet to do, is use their networking capability.

just read the page. They are the bees knees.
http://www.enphaseenergy.com/index.cfm

 

Underground power would not be that big a deal compared to Underground Hyperrails. I keep hoping that Canada maybe in partnership with Russia will take on the development of a crosscountry infrastructure of atmosphere evacuated tunnels that would carry passengers and cargo at speeds that could reach over 20000 kilometers per hour.

Large countries like Canada would really benefit from 15 to 20 minute trips to anywheres, with minimal per trip costs. You just have to accept the front end development and construction costs and solve some issues. A trillion dollars invested. Maybe sell 10km3 of rock removed during construction to Japan.

So if I think we should zip people around through tunnels then Electricity is not that big a deal -especially if they can combine. Buy the rail system and get the electric grid for free!

Thanks for the link to the Enphase Microinverters. Nice gear!

 

Very happy they were developed.

20,000kph is quite fast. I wonder if motion sickness is negated at such speeds.

And what are the acceleration rates?

 

My Dad worked in the mines in the Sudbury area and discussing the hyperspeed trains with him his first questions were about the accelerations.

In order be lowered nearly a mile deep they tried some really fast cages but they had to slow them down. You need the miners feeling ready to work once they are down there. These were miners, very fit from working hard in the high temperatures underground.

It is also important how long the person is exposed to the acceleration. Most of the Cage systems are staged so it could be two descents of 15 Minutes with another 15 minutes between just to get down to the work level. With lateral travel added to reach the work face think about an hour just to to reach the area they would be mining. Any wonder that they now try to use remote robotics instead. The miner shows up - sits at their console and starts working.


People seem to handle the accelerations better as long as most of it is lateral.

At 3m/s2 you would travel 1200 km in about 20 minutes with peak speed of over 6000kph.

To double the distance to 2400 km you are still less than half an hour per trip with the peak speed still under 10000 kph.

For a longer distance of around 4800 km you might want to increase the acceleration to about 6.5m/s2 and find a way to compensate for the effects on travellers.

Your trip is still under half an hour, with the peak speed of 20000kph.

So accelerations of .3 to .6g.

 

The only thing I want short term is a higher than room temperature superconductor, something that exceeds 100°C by a comfortable margin. That alone would keep us busy upgrading infrastructures for decades.

Icing on the cake would be if it were also a thermal superconductor. That would revolutionize thermal systems like no bodies business. As a superconductor conducts electricity, a thermal superconductor conducts heat. A chunk of thermal superconducting material is the same temperature throughout, and carries heat perfectly. It exists at really could temperatures, but I don't know if the current crop of high temperature superconductors have this property.

 

Superconducting peltiers? Problem is the semi conductor type effects don't work at those temperatures. Room temperature super conductors will likely never exist, insulation not withstanding.

 

Even getting a higher current limit for liquid nitrogen cooled superconductors is going to be a big help.

 

There are already high temperature superconductors. Mechanical refrigeration will do.

HTS wire, a ceramic compound made of certain metal oxides that exhibit zero electrical resistance at the temperature of liquid nitrogen (-195 C, -320 F) have now been perfected, and commercial production has begun. Traditional superconductors function only at the temperature of liquid helium (-276 C, -450 F), an expensive gas requiring cumbersome equipment. The higher temperature of liquid nitrogen easily can be maintained by efficient mechanical refrigerators; hence the name, high-temperature superconductors (HTS). HTS wire carries 140 times the electrical current of copper wire and relies on silver for its flexibility, conductivity, and strength.

From:
http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_01/haynes111401.html

 

hey retched..
are u using Enphase .
It seems it is a solar powered thingy...I like to know more about from a first hand user.

 

I have been using them for about a month. They are more than I could have asked for.

Actually, I wanted to build that same product before I knew it was available.

Just awesome. It make on-grid solar SIMPLE.

 

Superconducting peltiers? Problem is the semi conductor type effects don't work at those temperatures. Room temperature super conductors will likely never exist, insulation not withstanding.

I hae to disagree with that one, though the only proof is if/when they are invented.

The reason I disagree it they keep making steady improvements.

 

I have been using them for about a month. They are more than I could have asked for.

Actually, I wanted to build that same product before I knew it was available.

Just awesome. It make on-grid solar SIMPLE.

Hey
Please start a thread on this, as I would like to go to details.
I think I would want this for my home..
I donno what this is. other than that it is a solar powered something

 

HTS wire carries 140 times the electrical current of copper wire and relies on silver for its flexibility, conductivity, and strength.

That is more current than I thought was available.

Are there any other conditions or limits?

I may have misunderstood but I thought that rare earth and other high temp superconductors current density was poor except in a fine strand wire.

 

With the chunnel machines remotely controlled,you would not need people
to move freight at high speeds.Have humans to clean up after wrecks.
Just a reminder about the hugh power plants to operate cool cyper Units.

 

That is more current than I thought was available.

Are there any other conditions or limits?

I may have misunderstood but I thought that rare earth and other high temp superconductors current density was poor except in a fine strand wire.

Size of the strands isn't that important, it is the magnetic field and temperature that are the limiters. Magnetic field translates as amperage density though. This will be true even if the make the magic goal of room temperature.