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From: desj@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (David desJardins)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Re: "Free Energy Machine"
Message-ID: <12462@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Mon, 17-Mar-86 18:34:26 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.12462
Posted: Mon Mar 17 18:34:26 1986
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In article <1090@terak.UUCP> doug@terak.UUCP (Doug Pardee) writes:
>
>The source of the energy is the Earth's rotation.  Perhaps we're
>lucky that there isn't enough energy available this way to make it
>worthwhile; I don't think that I'd accept a 25-hour day as the cost of
>"free energy".

   I don't know what you are basing this statement on; the rotational
energy of the Earth is 4.6x10^29 J; a 25-hour day would be a reduction
of 3.6x10^28 J.  This is enough to supply the total energy consumption
of the United States (at 1984 levels) for 462 million years.

   There is no shortage of energy; extracting it is the problem.
Conservation of angular momentum gets in the way.

   -- David desJardins