wtfdetroit needs to solve the energy crisis

**UxKa** · 11-10-2008 10:11 PM

Convicts on bikes and hamster wheels.

Where's my fucking Nobel Prize?

**cruscott35** · 11-11-2008 09:18 PM

Originally Posted by geerussell

At a given lumen level it's going to be cooler than a less efficient light.

When you use fewer watts to achieve the light level and convert more of that wattage to light as opposed to heat, it will always result in a cooler light than a less efficient alternative.

It's pretty much a simple matter of wattage in and heat/light out. No matter what technology is in the middle, it's about how much of your wattage is converted to those two things.

Actually, it's a matter of current in, heat/light out. I don't know too many houses, places, with a varible voltage in. Therefore only the amount of current the load draws can change.

**UxKa** · 11-11-2008 09:53 PM

On a more serious note....

Heat pumps. Next time you replace your air conditioner, replace it with a heat pump. The difference in upfront cost between the standard air conditioner and a heat pump shouldn't be more than $100-200. You will make that up in your first winter. I have delved deep into the world of thermal physics over the last couple months for my job, and that is my conclusion. I can elaborate if anyone cares.

**Wizzle** · 11-20-2008 04:16 PM

This motor spins with magnets and batteries
Posted by Jeff Kart | The Bay City Times November 20, 2008 09:31AM

Tim Wheeler seems to have done the impossible, inventing an electromagnetic engine that runs almost on its own.

He showed off a prototype of the "EME," for Electro Magnetic Energy, on Wednesday in Bay City.

"It does a lot more than what I'm showing you or telling you," said Wheeler, a 43-year-old "jack of all trades" from Burt near Birch Run.

His small, patented motor sips power from six motorcycle batteries while also recharging them. It works by using positive and negative charges to push and pull magnets mounted to a shaft inside a plastic case. There's a recovery system that prolongs the battery life.

Wheeler says the EME could be scaled up to power everything from automobiles to appliances, running for up a year without being plugged in.

He and others involved with TWM Technology in Bay City are looking for investors or government funding to continue their research.

So far, they say they've sunk three years and more than $50,000 into a large version of the EME installed into a 1951 Ford pickup.

That big engine runs, using the same six batteries, but needs work, because it was built with metal parts. A key to the EME is using plastic so as not to interfere with the magnets, said TWM President Todd Thorp, a Bay City native who now lives in Saginaw.

"I want to put it into actual production," Wheeler said of his invention, and eliminate all or most of the use of gasoline in America.

The hope is to license the technology and have another company make the motors.

For now, Wheeler said he makes a living hauling scrap, fixing cars and doing other odd jobs.

He says he was "raised in a scrapyard" and came to understand electricity at a young age.

"We use the full effect of the magnetic field, unlike any other motor," he said.

The prototype EME has been shown to be up to 82 percent efficient, he said. Wheeler said he's run the little motor for an hour and only used 2 percent of the battery power.

Wheeler started working on the motor "out of curiosity."

The prototype was made by hand, in his garage, with about $100 worth of parts. He thinks larger versions could be built and sold for less than gas-powered engines.

The prototype could be used to move a moped at speeds of up to 50 mph, said Henry Johnson, a Bay City real estate broker that hosted Wednesday's showing.

Johnson is part of Angel Marketing in Burt, which is trying to promote the EME. The group also includes T.J. Swihart of Bay City, a retired scientist from Dow Corning Corp.

So far, Johnson said he's contacted General Motors, Ford and Chrysler officials about the EME, but they haven't been willing to talk to him - yet.

Wheeler's next goal is to rebuild the large motor and show it off on the roads of Michigan.

Thorp, a former small business owner, said he's committed to the EME partially because of his 4-year-old son, Zackary.

Unlike gas engines, which pollute the environment, the EME runs clean, without as much as a tailpipe, he said.

"Air quality for the future," Thorp said of his motivation. "Not just for him, but for everyone."