Looking for materials/products

[AnthonyG]

For a university project we have to come up with a businessplan, it can be whatever we want it to be, just as long as it's unique somehow.

Now, I have a few ideas, but since I'm studying to become an economist, not an engineer I don't know wheter my ideas are realistic from an enginering point of view.

I'm looking for the folowing products/items/applications:

*a coating/paint that is weather resistant and changes color when it gets colder/warmer. (dark when it's colder, light when it's warmer)

*A flywheel that can store a reasonable amount of energy for household use. (ex enough for 1 day.) Something prety standard for which costs can be cut when producing in larger numbers.

*a weighing system that can weigh a moving person (up to <100 grams accuracy)


Any help is welcome

[Greg Locock]

1 yes, google it
2 depends on what you mean by reasonable size. A suitable flywheel would be smaller than a house but bigger than a fridge
3 very expensive, may not be possible (depending on whether you are trying to work back to their static weight).

[AnthonyG]

2 depends on what you mean by reasonable size. A suitable flywheel would be smaller than a house but bigger than a fridge

I was thinking around the size of a large fridge.
The idea is to dig it into the ground in the garden, like a gas tank.
It would be used to store energy from solar panels or just charge up partially during the night when energy prices are lower.

[CoreyWest]

2 depends on what you mean by reasonable size. A suitable flywheel would be smaller than a house but bigger than a fridge

I was thinking around the size of a large fridge.
The idea is to dig it into the ground in the garden, like a gas tank.
It would be used to store energy from solar panel or just charge up partially during the night when energy prices are lower.

Looks like very nice set up.. Have you got the fridge? Please share some information.

[autogyro]

We looked at the underground flywheel idea a few years ago.
The main problem is safety.
As you reach a workable size the containment becomes impractical.

[Andres125sx]

Yesterday I watched a tv program where people showed their own inventions. One guy built a death ray it was a satellite dish covered with little mirrors so all of them reflected the sun to the point where the receiver should be. He was able to melt iron when in the correct point. He said he was reaching more than 3000 ºC....

They said we receive around 1000W per square meter, and that made me wonder about some good way to make the most of this energy. Maybe something to heat up a receipt that build up pressure and once it reach a fixed value that pressure is used to move a flywheel, or a dynamo....


I´m sure solar power is the future, not for next decade, but maybe for next century. Right now our electric devices draw too much power and current solar panels are too ineficient, but electric devices draw fewer power each year and solar power is improved continuously, so when they both evolve enough solar power could be a dream come true, infinite energy to make any electric device autonomous. Actually all of us would be autonomous, our houses would be autonomous from energy companies and governments, our cars would be autonomous from them too and could recharge anywhere and for free, our governments would be autonomous from petrol countries and wouldn´t need to accept their conditions... Solar power could be a synonym of freedom in the energy area.

The question is if we (humans) are free enough to take this route wich obviously would be the best for humankind and the planet, or if we´re going to be headed by these companies in the direction they are interested....

I know I´m a dreamer, but IMHO an universtity project must be optimistic and looking to the very long-term. At that age we all have more dreams than experience and that´s what the project must show.

[Manoah2u]

megacorporations will never allow such a thing, nor would society. people are only interested in money, and so are governments. GM had a EV car in the 90's long before the electrahybrid craze started. they were destroyed. they ran
better then any electric car around today. There are plenty 'inventions' around, from 'free energy' to 'near-perfect' healthcare.
the problem is, allowing that, would be a loss of potential money for big businesses that can make even bigger business.
And lastly, society wouldn't accept such a thing. Self-sustainability would result in the loss of millions of jobs in the oil industry,
electric industry, research industry on certain levels. These people don't want to lose their jobs, and next; the government doesn't want them to lose their jobs because they'd have to live upon government money.
That's why all these inventions are immediately 'bought'. That's why you have these TV invention shows [they ran a while ago] - absolute control.

Well maybe i'm pessimistic, but in the meantime, we can still make something out of it, and there's plenty to enjoy in life.
Even though it's all 'under control', we still get inventions to our benefit; computers lead to laptops lead to smartphones and tablets [even though we shouldn't be blind to the health effects and the labor it costs].

I like the idea of running a household on mirrors. i'd say with some research, it'll even work.
But then we get back to the fact any diesel engine can run on (even used) vegetable oil. The use of such is illegal. why?
you know the answer.

[Blanchimont]

Such sun power plants already exist at bigger scales, although i don't know how much energy they produce and how reliable they are ATM.

[Andres125sx]

megacorporations will never allow such a thing, nor would society. people are only interested in money, and so are governments. GM had a EV car in the 90's long before the electrahybrid craze started. they were destroyed. they ran
better then any electric car around today. There are plenty 'inventions' around, from 'free energy' to 'near-perfect' healthcare.
the problem is, allowing that, would be a loss of potential money for big businesses that can make even bigger business.
And lastly, society wouldn't accept such a thing. Self-sustainability would result in the loss of millions of jobs in the oil industry,
electric industry, research industry on certain levels. These people don't want to lose their jobs, and next; the government doesn't want them to lose their jobs because they'd have to live upon government money.
That's why all these inventions are immediately 'bought'. That's why you have these TV invention shows [they ran a while ago] - absolute control.

Well maybe i'm pessimistic, but in the meantime, we can still make something out of it, and there's plenty to enjoy in life.
Even though it's all 'under control', we still get inventions to our benefit; computers lead to laptops lead to smartphones and tablets [even though we shouldn't be blind to the health effects and the labor it costs].

I like the idea of running a household on mirrors. i'd say with some research, it'll even work.
But then we get back to the fact any diesel engine can run on (even used) vegetable oil. The use of such is illegal. why?
you know the answer.

I agree it´s almost an utopia, but that´s exactly the reason it would be a nice university project. If it would be a project for a company then I´d go another route, but for an university project you don´t need the consent of a company

Anycase I´m not that sure about that pessimistic view...

megacorporations will never allow such a thing, nor would society. people are only interested in money, and so are governments.

I agree megacorporations do have a big influence, but they can´t control it all. If they would, then solar panels would not exists, same with wind mills, geothermic energy, EVs, batteries, etc.

They have stopped this technology for some decades, but they can´t do it any longer because technology have evolved to the point now it´s easy for "anyone" to evolve or invent new things. Now they can´t control it to the point they did when only big companies with big investments could afford this technology.

Today, not in a close future, but today, you can build your own house and do it completely autonomous. You can use geothermich energy for hot water and for heating purposes and fotovoltaic panels and wind mills for electricity generation with a liquid battery to store the necessary energy. It will be quite expensive, but it´s doable today and no company will stop you.

I agree it´s too expensive and too ineficient yet but it´s doable today, so what´s the reason to think it will not improve in the future to the point it will become an affordable alternative?


About the society, self-sustainability and people losing their jobs, sorry but I can´t buy that argument. Yes some people will complain and will try to stop it, but that´s the same we´ve seen before with industrial robots for example. Some jobs will disapear but there will be new jobs to replace them, as always.