OCEANS AND AIR

Taranaki Daily News, 23 July 1929, Page 3

OCEANS AND AIR

TO-MORROW’S POWER “LIMITLESS ABUNDANCE.” UNEXPLORED POSSIBILITIES. In a recent issue of the “Faraday House Journal” (London) appears, over the name of Mr. F. de Latour, A.M.1.E.E., a n electrical engineer well known in Wellington, an article which suggests quite unexplored possibilities in power development of the future.. The harnessing of ocean power has been the dream of°some engineers and many cranks for years past, but no one has managed it yet. Mr. de Latour suggests a new method altogether, and mentions in his article that some time ago he “was foolish enough to present the New Zealand Government- with patent fees." But he concludes his article: “Many now alive will see them in operation."

As engineers (he wrote) we are not greatly disturbed by scare headings telling us that the fuel resources of th® world will last for only a few years. We know in a general way that ther® are many sources waiting to be harnessed. It is an engineering platitude that wherever there are two stores of matter not too far apart at different temperatures mechanical energy is available by utilising some of them as heat injector and the other as rejector. When we look for such stores we are bewildered by th® number of them all round us. The two greatest are, perhaps, the oceans of the world and the atmosphere. TEMPERATURE NOT WAVE MOTION Consider the oceans first. It is generally known that the sea decreases in temperature with depth. It is not so well known that the temperature gradient is much steeper in th® tropics than in temperate latitudes. At' th® Equator one may find water at 35 degrees F. at 800 or 900 ft. from th® surface, while in latitude 40 it will be necessary to go 1200 ft. for such water. The sun heats the surface water, and conduction downwards proceeds continuously. The denser Polar water underneath causes the unbalanced warmed column to flow away in the form of ocean currents. The rate of convection is greater than that of conduction, so that the cold water comes nearer th® surface in the tropical belt. At the Equator the surface water is about 90 degrees, and we can get water at 35 degrees by going down 800 or 900 ft. Sometimes, when a hot current has spread to temperate latitudes (as on the western coosts of the Americas) the gradient may be much steeper again. Here, then, is one magnificent sourc® of energy—boiler, condenser, batterytitanic and everlasting. How shall it be adapted to serve our human ends? Some fifteen year 6 ago the thought presented itself, and the writer, being very young, planned in detail a power station of 300,000 k.w. to work in the sea off Sydney, and wa>s even foolish enough to present the New Zealand Government with patent fees to cover the application. lie was, perhaps, 50 years to® soon, but has already had the satisfaction of seeing the system “invented by the eminent Messieurs Claud and Bouchesot, of France.” All that is required for development' is a turbine fed with low pressure • steam generated by the surface water and condensed by the colder from below, or alternatively by the vapour of a working substance such as carbon dioxide, which would be exhausted to pipe coils hung in the deep water, to be there condensed and re-pumped a* liquid to the surface water boilet. ALMOST LIMITLESS. The system would obviously produc® extraordinarily cheap power in almost limitless abundance. The limit to development comes, in fact, only when the Polar ice is melted and the tropical seas are converted to temperate ones. It is important to note that the open oceans only are available for continuous power production. Enclosed sea# have a steep gradient in summer, but are even in temperature throughout in winter. This is also the case with lakes. In these cases there is no Polar water available to form the condenser.

Most of the countries of .the world situated in tropical and temperate latitudes, have coasts suitable for ocean power plants. Many will be enabled to change the climate considerably by this means. In Australia water may b® lifted over the water eheds of the north and east to reproduce the great lakes that once existed in the interior. Th® evaporation is truly enormous, and one® the lakes and rivers are established a very' small make-up will ensure a plentiful rainfall throughout the country. A similar programme will , bring th® Sahara into active production of food with the help of power-produced fertilisers. ■ ~

POWER FROM AIR TEMPERATURES

The second source of future power is the atmosphere. Here, again, we find that the temperature varies at different points in an immense store of fluid matter. Therefore, it-may be utilised. In this case the colder portion is th® least dense. How, then, are we t® bring it in ? Instal on a mountain side a double insulated pipe line connected at the top to a pond and at the base to a turbine and pipe coil in the atmosphere. Fill the system with, a suitable liquid, such as calcium chloride solution. The column of cold liquid descending from the elevated pond is not balanced by the warmed ascending column, and, consequently, power may be continuously obtained from the turbine shaft. The system is, of course, the ocean plant reversed. _lt is probably not capable of producing power quite as cheaply, but would servo where the former is not readily obtain-, able. There are many other sources. Thos® described above are obviously capabl® of supplying the power requirements of the world for longer than we can imagine. Many now alive will see them in operation.