Thunderstorm power plants. A device for storing electrical energy of lightning. Invention patent of the Russian Federation ru2332816

24.09.2019

Thunderstorm energy Is a kind of alternative energy, which should "catch" lightning energy and send it to the power grid. Such a source is an endless resource that is constantly being restored. Lightning is a complex electrical process that is divided into several types: negative and positive. The first type of lightning accumulates in the lower part of the cloud, the other, on the contrary, collects in the upper part. In order to "catch" and keep the lightning energy, it is necessary to use powerful and expensive capacitors, as well as a variety of oscillatory systems that have circuits of the second and third kind. This is necessary in order to match and evenly distribute the load with the external resistance of the working generator.

So far, thunderstorm energy is an unfinished and not fully formed project, although it is quite promising. Attractive is the ability to constantly recover resources. It is very important how much power comes from a single discharge, which contributes to the production of enough energy (about 5 billion Joules of clean energy, which is equal to 145 liters of gasoline).

The process of creating a lightning strike

The process of creating a lightning strike is very complex and technical. First, a leader discharge is sent from the cloud to the ground, which is formed by electron avalanches. These avalanches are combined into discharges, which are called "streamers". The leader discharge creates a hot ionized channel through which the main lightning discharge moves in the opposite direction, which is ejected from the surface of our planet by an impulse of a strong electric field. Such systemic manipulations can be repeated several times in a row, although it may seem to us that only a few seconds have passed. Therefore, the process of "catching" lightning, converting its energy into current and subsequent storage is so difficult.

Problematic

There are the following aspects and disadvantages of lightning energy:

Unreliable energy source. Due to the fact that it is impossible to predict in advance where and when lightning will occur, problems may arise with the creation and receipt of energy. The variability of such a phenomenon significantly affects the significance of the entire idea.
Low discharge duration. A lightning discharge occurs and acts in a matter of seconds, so it is very important to react quickly and "catch" it.
The need to use capacitors and oscillatory systems. Without the use of these devices and systems, it is impossible to fully receive and convert thunderstorm energy.
Side problems with "catching" charges. Due to the low density of charged ions, a large air resistance is created. You can "catch" lightning using an ionized electrode, which must be raised as much as possible above the earth's surface (it can "catch" energy only in the form of microcurrents). Raising the electrode too close to electrified clouds will trigger the creation of lightning. Such a short-term, but powerful charge can lead to numerical breakdowns of a thunderstorm power plant.
Expensive cost of the entire system and equipment. Thunderstorm energy, due to its specific structure and constant variability, implies the use of a variety of equipment, which is very expensive.
Conversion and distribution of current. Due to the variability of the power of the charges, problems with their distribution can arise. The average power of lightning is from 5 to 20 kA, however, there are flashes with amperage up to 200 kA. Any charge must be distributed at a lower power to the indicator of 220 V or 50-60 Hz of alternating current.

Experiments with the installation of thunderstorm power plants

On October 11, 2006, it was announced about a successful design of a prototype model of a thunderstorm power plant, which is capable of "catching" lightning and converting it into clean energy. Alternative Energy Holdings could boast of such achievements. The innovative manufacturer noted that such a plant could solve several environmental problems as well as significantly reduce the cost of energy production. The company assures that such a system will pay off within 4-7 years, and "thunderstorm farms" will be able to produce and sell electricity, which differs from the cost of traditional energy sources ($ 0.005 per kW / year).

In 2013, researchers at the University of Saungthampt simulated an artificial lightning charge in laboratory conditions, which is identical in properties to lightning of natural origin. Using simple equipment, scientists were able to "catch" the charge and with its help charge the battery of a mobile phone.

Lightning activity studies, lightning frequency maps

NASA specialists working with the Tropical Storm Measurement satellite in 2006 conducted studies of thunderstorm activity in different parts of our planet. Later, the data on the frequency of the origin of lightning and the creation of a corresponding map were notified. Such studies reported that there are certain regions in which up to 70 lightning strikes (per square km of area) occur throughout the year.

A thunderstorm is a complex electrostatic atmospheric process accompanied by lightning and thunder. Thunderstorm energy is a promising alternative energy that can help humanity get rid of the energy crisis and provide it with constantly renewable resources. Despite all the advantages of this type of energy, there are many aspects and factors that prevent the active production, use and storage of electricity of this origin.

Scientists around the world are now studying this complex process and developing plans and projects to address related problems. Perhaps, over time, humanity will be able to tame the "obstinate" energy of lightning and process it in the near future.

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Alternative energy sources. Lightning power plant

INTRODUCTION

1.2 Problems of energy development

2.1 DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES

3. LIGHTNING POWER PLANT

3.1 Lightning power plant

INTRODUCTION

Many years of research have shown that the reserves of many types of organic energy sources are not endless. They are depleted every year in large quantities in accordance with their consumption. These findings have led to many questions in the search for new energy sources. In the meantime, all energy sources fell into two main categories. All of the existing fuel reserves for power generation are divided into two main types:

Renewable;

Not renewable.

In this regard, the search for new deposits and new types of fuel currently plays a leading role in providing energy to the whole world and individual vital facilities. However, new deposits are also being depleted, and alternative energy sources such as wind and solar energy are exploited only under favorable conditions and require considerable costs in equipment and operation. This is due to their higher instability and changes in performance indicators in the process.

The huge advantage of alternative energy lies in the “purity” of the energy received and produced. After all, it is extracted from natural sources: waves, ebb / flow, the thickness of the Earth. All natural phenomena and processes are saturated with energy. The task of humanity is to remove it and turn it into electrical one. The question is what will happen to the Earth when the energy is swinging in terawatts until it bothers the minds. So, we can say that the task is clear. It remains to develop these industries.

1. CLASSIC POWER SOURCES

The extraction of the Earth's resources is coming to an end. After all, almost all organic fuel sources reproduce very slowly or not at all. At the same time, humanity is accustomed to only taking, but not replenishing the expended resources. Therefore, the issue of the energy depletion of the Earth did not particularly excite the world, except for the public and various green organizations, which only shake their fingers if they threw a piece of paper in the street or did not extinguish the fire. Therefore, to date, energy corporations are solving the problem only in the search for new deposits. However, as you know, new developed fields do not change anything, or rather worsen the ecological situation even more.

We can say that the search for new sources is proceeding at a measured pace: energy elements are grown, new resources are extracted for energy production. After all, they will also last for a relatively short time.

Energy is in the first place in the use and transformation of energy. The economic potential of states and the well-being of people depend on it to a decisive extent. It also has the strongest impact on the environment, depletion of the planet's resources and the economy of states. It is obvious that the rate of energy consumption in the future will not stop and even increase. As a result, the following questions arise:

What is the impact on the biosphere and its individual elements of the main types of modern (thermal, water, nuclear) energy and how will the ratio of these types in the energy balance change in the short and long term;

Is it possible to reduce the negative impact on the environment of modern (traditional) methods of obtaining and using energy;

What are the possibilities of energy production from alternative (non-traditional) resources, such as the energy of the sun, wind, thermal waters and other sources that are inexhaustible and environmentally friendly.

This set of questions covers all spheres of human activity. We can say that at present the task of the economic and environmental issue has been posed. Time for action.

1.1 Types of classical energy sources

All existing types of energy fuels in nature are subdivided into solid, liquid and gaseous. In heating devices, the thermal effect of an electric current is also used to heat the coolant. Some fuel groups, in turn, are subdivided into two subgroups, of which one subgroup is fuel as it is produced, and this fuel is called natural; the second subgroup is fuel that is obtained by processing or enriching natural natural fuel; this is called artificial fuel.

Solid fuels include:

a) natural solid fuel - wood, coal, anthracite, peat;

b) artificial solid fuel - charcoal, coke and pulverized fuel, which is obtained by crushing coal.

Liquid fuels include:

a) natural liquid fuel - oil;

b) artificial liquid fuel - gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel (diesel fuel) fuel oil, tar.

Gaseous fuels include:

a) natural gaseous fuel - natural gas;

b) artificial gaseous fuel - generator gas obtained during the gasification of various types of solid fuel (peat, firewood, coal, etc.), coke oven, blast furnace, lighting, associated and other gases.

All fossil fuels are composed of the same chemical elements. The difference between the types of fuel is that these chemical elements are contained in the fuel in different quantities.

The elements that make up the fuel are divided into two groups.

Group 1: these are those elements that burn themselves or support combustion. These fuel elements include carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

Group 2: these are the elements that do not burn themselves and do not contribute to combustion, but they are part of the fuel; these include nitrogen and water.

Sulfur occupies a special place from these elements. Sulfur is a combustible substance and emits a certain amount of heat during combustion, but its presence in the fuel is undesirable, since sulfur dioxide is released during the combustion of sulfur, which passes into the heated metal and impairs its mechanical properties.

The amount of heat energy that the fuel releases during combustion is measured in calories. Each fuel produces a different amount of heat when it burns. The amount of heat (calories) that is released during the complete combustion of 1 kg of solid or liquid fuel or during the combustion of 1 m3 of gaseous fuel is called the calorific value of the fuel or the heat of combustion of the fuel. The calorific value of various fuels has wide ranges. For example, for fuel oil the heat of combustion is about 10,000 kcal / kg, for coal 3000 - 7000 kcal / kg. The higher the heat of combustion of the fuel, the more valuable the fuel, since less is required to produce the same amount of heat. To compare the thermal value of fuel or to calculate the consumption of the amount of a particular fuel, a common unit of measurement or fuel standard is used. Fuel from Moscow coal, which has a calorific value of 7000 kcal / kg, is taken as such a unit. This unit is called reference fuel. To make calculations and compare the fuel consumption of different heats of combustion, it is necessary to know the calorific value of the fuel. For example, when designing, when it is necessary to compare the consumption of coal with the consumption of fuel oil and the feasibility of building a coal or fuel oil boiler house, it is necessary to take into account the correction factor for the calorific value of the fuel.

The vast diversity of the planet's resources is obvious, but the picture of the world is not changing much.

1.3 Problems of energy development

The development of an industrial society is based on a constantly growing level of production and consumption of various types of energy.

As you know, the production of thermal and electrical energy is based, as mentioned above, the process of burning fossil energy resources - coal, oil or gas, and in nuclear power - the fission of the nuclei of uranium and plutonium atoms when absorbing neutrons.

The extraction, processing and consumption of energy resources, metals, water and air are growing with the great demands of mankind, while their reserves are rapidly decreasing. The problem of the planet's non-renewable organic resources is especially acute.

It is not difficult to guess that organic fossil resources, even with a likely slowdown in the growth rate of energy consumption, will be largely used up in the very near future.

It should also be noted that the combustion of fossil coal and oil with a sulfur content of about 2.5% generates up to 400 million tons of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides annually, which is 70 kg of harmful substances per each inhabitant of the Earth per year.

Thus, even a reduction in consumption and the economy of minerals cannot help to avoid an energy catastrophe. If in the near future the planet does not become uninhabitable, then the critical need for energy resources is provided.

The way out remains in the search and implementation of endless or renewable energy sources. The fight against waste and emissions into the atmosphere of tons of harmful and deadly substances and heavy metals in large quantities is of great importance.

As is already known, the combustion of fossil fuels is harmful to the environment. At present, systems and devices for purification of emissions of combustion products into the atmosphere are being developed. Among the devices are the following:

Filters on Venturi nozzles;

Metal labyrinth filters;

Fibrous synthetic volumetric filters made from nonwoven fabrics.

Of the existing cleaning methods, there are the following:

Adsorption method.

Thermal afterburning method.

Thermocatalytic method.

Naturally, such funds are expensive. In addition, the maintenance of systems requires highly qualified personnel.

2. ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES

Alternative energy sources (AES) are currently the most significant solution in relation to the production of electricity from fossil fuels. Alternative energy is based on the transformation of initially environmentally friendly components, which in turn dramatically reduces the harm to energy production. These include energy:

Ebb and flow;

Sea waves;

The inner heat of the planet, etc.

The main reasons indicating the importance of an early transition to alternative energy sources:

Global ecological: today it is generally known and proven that traditional energy-producing technologies (including nuclear and thermonuclear) have a detrimental effect on the environment, their application inevitably leads to catastrophic climate change already in the first decades of the 21st century.

Economic: the transition to alternative technologies in the energy sector will save the country's fuel resources for processing in the chemical and other industries. In addition, the cost of energy produced by many alternative sources is already lower than the cost of energy from traditional sources, and the payback period for the construction of alternative power plants is significantly shorter. Prices for alternative energy are decreasing, for traditional energy they are constantly growing;

Social: the size and density of the population are constantly growing. At the same time, it is difficult to find areas for the construction of nuclear power plants, state district power plants, where the production of energy would be cost-effective and safe for the environment. The facts of an increase in oncological and other serious diseases are well known in the regions where nuclear power plants, large state district power plants, enterprises of the fuel and energy complex are located, the harm caused by giant lowland hydroelectric power plants is well known - all this increases social tension.

Despite this, the transition to AIE is proceeding smoothly. Many energy sources are located in a specific area, and their efficiency depends on favorable conditions, time and data. A novelty always costs a lot more than an established product. Therefore, installation and operation are costly. However, all over the world it is already quite common to find wind turbines or solar panels on the roof of a residential building, that is, AES have reached widespread use, which means that construction will soon significantly reduce tariffs. Do not forget about mega-corporations and small companies that exist due to the extraction of minerals: oil, gas, coal, and it is unlikely that they will stop mining because of saving the planet's ecology. Therefore, in order to calm down the public, various purification and filtering systems are purchased for “dirty” production. But these are only at most a few companies and articles in newspapers and the Internet.

2.1 Development of alternative energy sources

The main advantage of AES is the production of harmless energy. This means that the transition to AES can change the energy and environmental situation in the world. The energy obtained with the help of AIE is free.

The most obvious disadvantages of the slow implementation of this category of energy production are: insufficient funding and disruptions to operations. This is due to the fact that their implementation and production is still a very expensive process. Newness and lack of awareness is also significant for many organizations. Many manufacturers prefer hazardous and hazardous to health and the environment power plants due to their reliability and readiness for full-fledged operation than expensive and “capricious” renewable energy systems.

Power outages are a significant disadvantage. For example, solar energy production is possible only during the daytime. Therefore, most often, together with alternative energy sources, all the same harmful industries are installed to compensate for energy resources. In this case, the excess acquired energy is accumulated in the storage batteries.

AIE are at the stage of significant development and implementation. Many countries have already switched to them and are producing energy in huge quantities. Many states, due to their territorial location, actively use AES.

The total installed capacity of wind turbines in China in 2014 was 114,763 MW. What made the government so actively develop wind energy? China is the leader in CO2 emissions. It is planned to use primarily geothermal, wind and solar energy. According to the state plan, by 2020, huge wind power plants with a total output of 120 gigawatts will be built in 7 regions of the country.

Alternative energy is actively developing in the USA. For example, the total capacity of American wind turbines in the United States in 2014 was 65,879 MW. The United States is the world leader in the development of geothermal energy - a direction that uses the temperature difference between the Earth's core and its crust to generate energy. One of the methods of using hot geothermal resources is UGS (advanced geothermal systems), in which the US Department of Energy is investing. They are also supported by research centers and venture capital companies (in particular, Google), but so far the UGS remain commercially uncompetitive.

It is also possible to single out such countries as Germany, Japan, India and others by the huge influence of AIE.

3. LIGHTNING POWER PLANT

One of the first companies to use energy from storm clouds was the American company Alternative Energy Holdings. She proposed a way to use the free energy by collecting and utilizing it, arising from the electrical discharges of thunderclouds. The experimental setup was launched in 2007 and was called the "lightning collector". Thunderstorm developments and studies contain huge accumulations of energy that the American company has proposed to use as a source of electricity.

3.1 Lightning power plant

A lightning power plant is essentially a classic power plant that converts lightning energy into electricity. At the moment, thunderstorm energy is being actively researched, and it is possible that in the near future there will be large quantities of thunderstorm power plants along with other power plants based on clean energy.

3.1.1 Lightning as a source of lightning surges

Lightning bolts are electrical discharges that accumulate in large quantities in the clouds. Due to air flows in thunderclouds, accumulation and separation of positive and negative charges occurs, although questions on this topic are still being investigated.

One of the widespread assumptions of the formation of electric charges in clouds is associated with the fact that this physical process occurs in a constant electric field of the earth, which was discovered by MV Lomonosov during his experiments.

Rice. 3.1. A visual diagram of the development of a thunderstorm

Our planet always has a negative charge, while the electric field strength near the earth's surface is about 100 V / m. It is due to the charges of the earth and depends little on the time of year and day and is almost the same for any point on the earth's surface. The air surrounding the Earth has free charges that move in the direction of the Earth's electric field. Each cubic centimeter of air near the earth's surface contains about 600 pairs of positively and negatively charged particles. With distance from the earth's surface, the density of charged particles in the air increases. At the ground, the air conductivity is low, but at a distance of 80 km from the earth's surface it increases 3 billion times and reaches the conductivity of fresh water.

Thus, in terms of electrical properties, the Earth with the surrounding atmosphere can be represented as a spherical capacitor of colossal dimensions, the plates of which are the Earth and a conductive layer of air located at a distance of 80 km from the Earth's surface. An insulating layer between these plates is an 80 km-thick low-electrical conduction layer of air. The voltage between the plates of such a capacitor is about 200 kV, and the current flowing under the influence of this voltage is 1.4 kA. The capacitor capacity is about 300 MW. In the electric field of this capacitor, in the interval from 1 to 8 km from the Earth's surface, thunderclouds are formed and thunderstorm phenomena occur.

Lightning, as a carrier of electrical charges, is the closest source to electricity in comparison with other AES. The charge that accumulates in the clouds has a potential of several million volts relative to the Earth's surface. The direction of the lightning current can be both from the ground to the cloud, with a negative cloud charge (in 90% of cases), and from the cloud to the ground (in 10% of cases). The duration of a lightning discharge is on average 0.2 s, rarely up to 1 ... 1.5 s, the duration of the leading edge of the pulse is from 3 to 20 μs, the current is several thousand amperes, up to 100 kA, the temperature in the channel reaches 20,000? C, appears powerful magnetic field and radio waves. Lightning can also form during dust storms, blizzards, volcanic eruptions.

alternative energy lightning power plant

3.1.2 Principle of operation of a lightning power plant

It is based on the same process as other power plants: converting source energy into electricity. In fact, lightning contains the same electricity, that is, nothing needs to be converted. However, the above parameters of a “standard” lightning discharge are so great that if this electricity enters the network, then all equipment will simply burn out in a matter of seconds. Therefore, powerful capacitors, transformers and various converters are introduced into the system, adjusting this energy to the required conditions of use in power grids and equipment.

3.1.3 Advantages and disadvantages of a lightning power plant

Benefits of lightning power plants:

The earth-ionospheric supercapacitor is constantly recharged using renewable energy sources - the sun and radioactive elements of the earth's crust.

A thunderstorm power plant does not emit any pollutants into the environment.

The equipment of thunderstorm stations is not conspicuous. The balloons are too high to be seen with the naked eye. This will require a telescope or binoculars.

A thunderstorm power plant is capable of generating energy continuously if the balloons are kept in the air.

Disadvantages of lightning power plants:

Thunderstorm electricity, like solar or wind energy, is difficult to store.

High voltages in lightning power plant systems can be dangerous to service personnel.

The total amount of electricity that can be obtained from the atmosphere is limited.

At best, thunderstorm energy can only serve as a minor addition to other energy sources.

Thus, thunderstorm energy is currently quite unreliable and vulnerable. However, this does not diminish its importance in favor of the transition to AIE. Some areas of the planet are saturated with favorable conditions, which can significantly continue the study of thunderstorms and obtaining the necessary electricity from them.

3.2 Calculation of a lightning power plant

The calculation of a lightning power plant is designed, first of all, to determine the output power. After all, the goal of any power plant is to maximize energy efficiency in order to recoup operating and installation costs as well as generating electricity. The higher the amount of output energy, the more income it will bring, and more objects will be served by it. Since the basis of the input energy of a lightning power plant is a lightning discharge, then, due to the similarity of its composition with the output electricity, the calculation of the power of the power plant is practically equivalent to the power of the lightning charge, with the exception of internal losses.

Power plant output is influenced by parameters such as installation location, equipment efficiency

The shape of lightning current pulses i (t) is described by the expression:

where I is the maximum current; k - correction factor; t is time; - the time constant of the front; is the decay time constant.

The parameters included in this formula are given in table. 3.1. They correspond to the most severe lightning discharges, which are rare (less than 5% of cases). Currents of 200 kA are found in 0.7 ... 1% of cases, 20 kA - in 50% of cases.

Table 3.1. Parameters of formula (3.1).

Parameter

For the first case, the result of the pulse shape will be as follows:

Thus, the shape of the lightning is as follows:

Rice. 3.2. Current pulse shape graph

With all this, the maximum lightning potential difference reaches 50 million volts, with a current of up to 100 thousand amperes. To calculate the lightning energy, let us take the numbers closer to the average for most lightning bolts, namely: voltage of 25 million volts and current of 10 thousand amperes.

With a lightning discharge, the electrical potential is reduced to zero. Therefore, in order to correctly determine the average power of a lightning discharge, in the calculations it is necessary to take half of the initial voltage.

We now have the following electric discharge power:

where P is the power of the lightning discharge, U is the voltage; I is the current strength.

That is, by (3.2) we get:

This means that the power of a lightning discharge is 125 million kilowatts. Taking into account the time of several thousandths of a second, determine the total amount of lightning energy:

Wh = 34.722 kWh,

where t1 is the number of seconds in an hour; t2 is the duration of the lightning discharge.

Let's take the average price of electric energy 4 rubles per 1 kWh. Then the cost of all lightning energy will be 138.88 rubles.

In reality, according to these calculations, energy can be obtained and used, for example, for heating water, only a small part. The main part of the lightning energy is spent during the spark discharge to heat the atmosphere, and even theoretically consumers can use a smaller part of the lightning energy.

In the process of working on the course project, conclusions were drawn about the depletion of the planet's resources and the pollution of the atmosphere and the earth's surface in the process of their processing and extraction. In addition, the main types of replacing harmful production with a more benign one by generating energy from clean natural sources such as water, tides, the Sun, etc. are considered.

The course project considers the possibility of using the energy of lightning discharges to convert them into electricity. Calculations on the quantity and cost of a lightning discharge have been performed. However, these calculations are relative. After all, lightning energy is spent on atmospheric processes, and only a small part of it reaches the power plant.

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There are several types of lightning

Flat lightning looks like an electrical flash on the surface of clouds.

Linear lightning is a giant electric spark, very sinuous and with numerous appendages. The length of such a lightning is 2-3 km, but it can be up to 10 km or more. Linear lightning has great strength. It splits tall trees, sometimes affects people, and often causes fires when it hits wooden structures.

Inaccurate lightning is a luminous dotted lightning that runs through the background of clouds. This is a very rare form of lightning.

Rocket-shaped lightning develops very slowly, its discharge lasts 1-1.5 seconds.

The rarest form of lightning is ball lightning. It is a round, luminous mass. In a closed room, ball lightning was observed the size of a fist and even a head, and in a free atmosphere up to 20 m in diameter. Usually, ball lightning disappears without a trace, but sometimes it explodes with a terrible crash. When ball lightning appears, a whistling or buzzing sound is heard, it seems to boil, scattering sparks; after it disappears, a haze often remains in the air. The duration of ball lightning is from a second to several minutes. Its movement is associated with air currents, but in some cases it moves on its own. Ball lightning occurs during severe thunderstorms.

Ball lightning occurs under the influence of a linear lightning discharge, when ionization and dissociation of the volume of ordinary air occur in the air. Both of these processes are accompanied by the absorption of a huge amount of energy. Ball lightning, in essence, has no right to be called lightning: after all, it is just hot air charged with electrical energy. A clot of charged air gradually gives up its energy to the free electrons of the surrounding air layers. If the ball gives up its energy to glow, then it simply disappears: it turns back into ordinary air. When on its way the ball encounters any substances that act as pathogens, it explodes. Such pathogens can be nitrogen and carbon oxides in the form of fumes, dust, soot, etc.

Ball lightning temperature is about 5000 °. It is also calculated that the energy of the explosion of the ball lightning substance is 50-60 times higher than the energy of the explosion of smokeless powder.

During severe thunderstorms, there is a lot of lightning. Thus, during one thunderstorm, the observer counted 1,000 lightning strikes in 15 minutes. During one thunderstorm in Africa, 7,000 lightning strikes were recorded per hour.

To protect buildings and other structures from lightning, a lightning rod is used, or, as it is now correctly called, a lightning rod. It is a metal rod connected to a securely grounded wire.

To protect yourself from lightning, do not stand under tall trees, especially those standing alone, as lightning often strikes them. Oak is very dangerous in this respect, because its roots go deep into the ground. Never, never hide in haystacks and sheaves. In an open field, especially in elevated places, with a strong thunderstorm, a walking person is in great danger of being struck by lightning. In such cases, it is recommended to sit on the ground and wait out the thunderstorm.

Before a thunderstorm begins, it is necessary to destroy the drafts in the room and close all the chimneys. In rural areas, telephone calls should be avoided, especially during severe thunderstorms. Usually our rural telephone exchanges disconnect at this time. Radio antennas must always be grounded during thunderstorms.

If an accident happens - someone will be contused by lightning, it is necessary to immediately provide the victim with first aid (artificial respiration, special infusions, etc.). In some places, there is a harmful prejudice that one who has been struck by lightning can be helped by burying his body in the ground. In no case should this be done: a person affected by lightning especially needs an increased flow of air to the body.

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Rental block

Alternative energy- a set of promising methods of obtaining, transferring and using energy, which are not as widespread as traditional ones, but are of interest because of their advantageous use with, as a rule, a low risk of causing harm to the environment.

Solar energy

All kinds of solar power plants use solar radiation as an alternative source of energy. Radiation from the Sun can be used both for heating needs and for generating electricity (using photovoltaic cells).

The advantages of solar energy include the renewability of this energy source, noiselessness, absence of harmful emissions into the atmosphere when processing solar radiation into other types of energy.

The disadvantages of solar energy are the dependence of the intensity of solar radiation on the daily and seasonal rhythm, as well as the need for large areas for the construction of solar power plants. Also, a serious environmental problem is the use of poisonous and toxic substances in the manufacture of photovoltaic cells for solar systems, which creates a problem of their disposal.

Wind energy

Wind is one of the most promising energy sources. The principle of operation of a wind generator is elementary. The force of the wind is used to propel the wind wheel. This rotation is in turn transmitted to the rotor of the electric generator.

The advantage of a wind generator is, first of all, that in windy places, the wind can be considered an inexhaustible source of energy. In addition, wind generators, while producing energy, do not pollute the atmosphere with harmful emissions.

The disadvantages of devices for the production of wind energy include the inconstancy of the wind force and the low power of a single wind generator. Also, wind turbines are known for making a lot of noise, as a result of which they try to build them far from where people live.

Geothermal energy

A huge amount of thermal energy is stored in the depths of the Earth. This is due to the fact that the temperature of the Earth's core is extremely high. In some parts of the world, high-temperature magma directly reaches the Earth's surface: volcanic areas, hot springs of water or steam. The energy of these geothermal sources is proposed to be used as an alternative source by supporters of geothermal energy.

Geothermal sources are used in different ways. Some sources are used for heat supply, others - for generating electricity from thermal energy.

The advantages of geothermal energy sources include inexhaustibility and independence from the time of day and season.

The negative aspects include the fact that thermal waters are highly mineralized, and often also saturated with toxic compounds. This makes it impossible to discharge waste thermal waters into surface water bodies. Therefore, the waste water must be pumped back into the underground aquifer. In addition, some seismologists oppose any intervention in the deep layers of the Earth, arguing that this can provoke earthquakes.

Thunderstorm energy

Thunderstorm energy is a way to use energy by capturing and redirecting energy lightning into the power grid. Alternative Energy Holdings on October 11, 2006 announced the creation of a prototype model that can harness lightning energy. Lightning is clean energy, and its use will not only eliminate numerous environmental hazards, but will also significantly reduce the cost of energy production.

Problems in lightning energy

Lightning is a very unreliable source of energy, since it is impossible to predict in advance where and when a thunderstorm will occur.

Another problem of thunderstorm energy is that a lightning discharge lasts a fraction of a second and, as a result, its energy must be stored very quickly. This will require powerful and expensive capacitors. Also, various oscillatory systems with circuits of the second and third kind can be used, where the load can be matched to the internal resistance of the generator.

Lightning is a complex electrical process and is divided into several types: negative - accumulating in the lower part of the cloud and positive - collecting in the upper part of the cloud. This must also be taken into account when creating a lightning farm.

The energy of the ebb and flow

A disproportionately more powerful source of water flows is the ebb and flow. It is estimated that the potential ebb and flow could give humanity an estimated 70 million billion kilowatt-hours per year. For comparison: this is about the same as the explored reserves of bituminous and brown coal, taken together, are capable of giving;

The projects of tidal hydroelectric power plants have been developed in detail in terms of engineering and have been experimentally tested in several countries, including ours, on the Kola Peninsula. Even a strategy for the optimal operation of the TPP has been thought out: to accumulate water in the reservoir behind the dam during high tides and use it to generate electricity when the “peak consumption” occurs in the unified power systems, thereby reducing the load on other power plants.

Biofuels

Liquid: bioethanol.

The development of technologies for the production of second-generation bioethanol opens up new prospects in the fuel markets, produced from cheap biological raw materials, and, in addition, allows solving the problems of waste disposal. Ethanol used as an additive promotes more complete combustion of gasoline and reduces emissions of carbon monoxide and toxic substances by 30%, and emissions of volatile organic compounds by 25%. Thus, its use reduces the technogenic load on the environment. The advantage of biogas compared to natural gas is that it can be produced from local raw materials even in the most remote settlement, i.e. allows to provide fuel to regions that are difficult to access and costly from the point of view of organizing gas transportation infrastructure. In addition, the release of biogas makes it possible to solve the problem of waste disposal, which is a serious problem for agricultural and food production, during the processing of which, in addition to biogas, heat and organic fertilizers are obtained. In addition, the use of biogas reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

Solid: wood waste and biomass (wood chips, pellets (fuel pellets) from wood, husk, straw, etc., fuel briquettes) One of the most important advantages of pellets is a high and constant bulk density, regular shape and uniform consistency, which makes use them for heating and transport them over long distances.

Gaseous: HYPERLINK "https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%B7" \ o "Biogas" biogas, synthesis gas.

The advantage of biogas in comparison with natural gas is that it can be produced from local raw materials even in the most remote settlement, i.e. allows to provide fuel to regions that are difficult to access and costly from the point of view of organizing gas transportation infrastructure. In addition, the release of biogas makes it possible to solve the problem of waste disposal, which is a serious problem for agricultural and food production, during the processing of which, in addition to biogas, heat and organic fertilizers are obtained. In addition, the use of biogas reduces greenhouse gas emissions.

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Everyone who has ever read about the huge values of voltages and currents in the channel of linear lightning, wondered: is it possible somehow to catch these lightning and forward it to power networks? To power refrigerators, light bulbs, toasters and other washing machines. Talk about such stations has been going on for many years, but it is possible that next year we will finally see a working model of the "lightning collector".

There are a lot of problems here. Lightning is, alas, too unreliable electricity supplier. It is hardly possible to predict in advance where a thunderstorm will occur. And waiting for her in one place is a long time.

In addition, lightning has voltages of the order of hundreds of millions of volts and peak currents of up to 200 kiloamperes. To "feed" on lightning, their energy clearly needs to be accumulated somewhere in the thousandths of a second that the main discharge phase lasts (a seemingly instantaneous lightning strike actually consists of several phases), and then slowly give it to the network, simultaneously transforming in standard 220 volts and 50 or 60 hertz AC.

During a lightning discharge, a rather complex process takes place. First, a leader discharge, formed by electron avalanches, rushes from the cloud to the ground, which merge into discharges, also called streamers. The leader creates a hot ionized channel through which the main lightning discharge, ripped from the Earth's surface by a strong electric field, runs in the opposite direction.

Further, all these stages can be repeated 2, 3, and 10 times - in the very fractions of a second that the lightning lasts. Imagine how difficult it is to catch this discharge and direct the current to the right place. As you can see, there are many problems. Is it worth it then to mess with lightning at all?

If you put such a station in an area where lightning strikes much more often than usual, it will probably be useful. In one severe thunderstorm, when lightning strikes continuously one after another, such an amount of energy can be released that it will be enough to provide electricity to all the United States for 20 minutes. Of course, no matter what lightning catching station we come up with, its efficiency when converting current will be far from 100%, and, apparently, not all lightning striking in the vicinity of the lightning farm will be able to catch.

Thunderstorms happen very unevenly on Earth. Experts working with the American satellite "Tropical Storm Measurement Mission" have published a report on one of the latest achievements of this satellite. The world map of lightning frequency has been compiled. For example, in the central part of the African continent there is a rather large area where more than 70 lightning strikes per year occur per square kilometer!

So far, such projects for the use of lightning energy are mainly represented by inventors from the United States. The American company Alternative Energy Holdings says it is going to make the world happy with an environmentally friendly power plant that generates electricity at a ridiculous price of $ 0.005 per kilowatt hour. At different times, various inventors have proposed the most unusual storage devices - from underground reservoirs with metal that would melt from lightning entering a lightning rod and heat water, whose steam would rotate a turbine, to electrolyzers that decompose water into oxygen and hydrogen by lightning discharges. But the possible success lies in simpler systems.

Alternative Energy Holdings says it will build the first working prototype of such a lightning energy storage facility in 2007. The company intends to test its installation during the thunderstorm season next year, in one of the places where lightning strikes more often than usual. At the same time, the developers of the drive are optimistic that the power plant "on lightning" will pay off in 4-7 years.

http://www.membrana.ru/

Did you know?

Eye and photons

The sensitivity of the retina of the eye can be checked by yourself by repeating a simple experiment staged at one time by the famous Soviet scientist SI Vavilov.

Between an ordinary incandescent lamp and your observation point, install a stroboscope - a cardboard disk 15-20 cm in diameter, with a cut-out sector of 60 degrees, mounted on an axis. Now, while rotating the stroboscope disc at about a revolution per second, look at the lamp with one eye through the disc.

This is what will happen in this case: while rotating, the disk will begin to measure the proportions of light for the eye. The lamp shines unevenly, that is, its luminous flux pulsates, but since the disk rotates relatively slowly, the proportions of light will differ from each other by only a few photons. And this difference, available only to the most accurate instruments, can be easily caught by your eye - if you look closely, you will see a faint pulsation of light! It is easier to carry out this experiment if you put another one above the "measuring" lamp - a reference one. Its light will help you focus.