10% of USA Electrical Energy

This link mentions rare earth elements in connection with wind turbines. So I have a question - do not all electrical generation pathways with a 'spin' in the middle require magnets?

 

OK, say that this is my flavor of the month. Electricity produced by axial rotation (of something) needs a strong magnet. Or, resembling car alternators, produces a buck with a contrary-wound coil.

In most large electrical generators, how is this done? How do Maxwell's equations (elephant in room) dribble down through engineering, banking, and finally politics to generate electricity?

It could be a nice Smithsonian or Scientific American article to to present all this at general public level, Thinking that we make electricity in two ways - photo voltaic junctions, or water (thermal expansion or falling down) makes something spin.

Evidence that such things are not already known comes from 'whoa, weird magnets and digging' @3.

 

Bars@1 suggest that photovoltaic junction electricity is ignorably small in US. Rest of world???

How much can this source contribute to bottom-E countries, how might that happen and who pays for it?

 

My latest 'firefly.'

While on my latest life-insurance-inspired health kick, I've rediscovered the joys of cycling.......and my loathing for most self-absorbed cyclists.
It seems to be tough to get a decent bicycle for less than about $500, and most of my lycra-clad cycling friends seem to think that a bicycle isn't worth pedaling unless it's made out of weird space-age, F-35 inspired materials......with all of the fragility and costs associated with that programme.

So.......
Before the 'Zon pissed me off with a bait-and-switch over a bike, I'd pretty much settled in on two:

They're Hybrid bikes.....
What could be better - right?

Well......
This!!!


I'm tinkering with a 4-stroke friction drive rather than the more popular 2-cycle chain designs because of my preference for disc brakes, and my dislike for two-strokers.
I'm also thinking of using a "wal-mart" donor bike because, as is the case with most cyclist's egos, their carbon fiber or aluminum framed bikes are somewhat fragile.......
I've seen reports where people claim 150mpg efficiencies - but the real-world MPG numbers are probably in the low 100's.
Another advantage of the friction design is that the bike can be operated as..........a bike, with no parasitic drag, and the motor can be unmounted in seconds.

In most free states....even in SoCal, bikes with <50cc "motorized assist" require no registration, nor insurance but I think you have to have a certain number of candles on your birthday cake and.......because they're Californians......a helmet.

'Lectric bikes are coming along.....but as is the case with 'Lectric cars, more early adopters are required to work out the bugs, and bring down the cost.
Motorized bikes are getting to be something of a 'thing' in many places.....and there are options available for Darwin aspirants and other scofflaws:

 

I saw that as well.....but there's an outfit that makes friction components that seem to do a little bit better with tire wear.
I'll let you know if I get 'off paper.'
I might even tinker with one of the chain drive units but their reliability record is Vee-Dubbayaish.

Motor-in-hub units are very impressive indeed, but if I'm going to spend that much money, I'd just as soon buy a proper small motorcycle and pay for tag and insurance.

I'm thinking in the neighborhood of $350 for bike,motor, drive-line parts, and first tank of gas.

If the proof-of-concept is sound, then I'll motorize a more expensive hybrid bicycle (would it then he a Hybrid-hybrid?) and use the resulting abandoned WalMart bike for one of the more dubious chain-drive motor systems.

 

Mr. Honda started his business with engines for bicycles after WWII. With gas scarcity, he focused on efficiency from the beginning.

 

All the big legacy hydro facilities that I toured (in my college days) here in the Pacific Northwest had electric coils in the rotor for field excitation. The machines retained enough residual magnetism to allow self-starting of the exciter if they were not shut down for too long. But if hibernated for a long period, then they could not be self started, so required external power to the exciter assembly during startup. But I believe that was the standard procedure anyway.

 

The percentage of wind and solar in total energy consumption worldwide is 0.6%.
Its not going to save the world. Its a fool's endeavor to pursue 100% dependency on wind and solar.
Intermittent energy sucks.It will never replace fossil fuels .Germany pays 3 times as much for power than the USA.No wonder they have to lie to sell cars.
Put the money subsidizing wind and solar into developing thorium nukes and fusion reactors.

 

Fusion is a long way off, throwing money at it won't speed it up, and money is going into thorium.
Nuclear is a tough sell in most places, and out right banned in a few.

 

That's how small home generators work as well. The residual magnetism allows the production of a low voltage which is rectified to put a DC current through the field coils which generates a higher voltage and the generator "Bootstraps" to full operation. There is a procedure to reestablish a residual magnetic field if it is lost.

JeffD

 

When I was a child (in the 50's), Fusion was predicted to be 20 years away. If you ask "experts" now they will say it is 20 years off.

A prediction of 20 years off is the equivalent of NEVER as is is likely that the "expert" will not be around in twenty years.

JeffD

ps: Practical hydrogen cars will be available in about 20 years.

 

wind and solar in total energy consumption worldwide@13. Correct value in 2016 was 6.3%

Forgivable to get this wrong, but not difficult to get it right.