OK, I'm not understanding the physics here, of either the tree or the 'pendulating gravity sail.'
The distance that a tree moves in the wind is dependant on how much of the power available in the wind pushes it against the elasticity of the structure, after the Betz limit is applied. 100 percent of the wind force, reduced to >59.26% (Betz) and reduced further by whatever the tree's efficiency is in catching the wind, is making the tree move X feet.
Attach the tree to your alternator/generator with your cables, and you have in effect guyed the top of the tree in place, with the amount of your guy wire force against this deflection dependent on the power that your alternator can extract. The more you load the alternator, the less distance the tree will deflect.
As I see it, the weight and height of the tree are completely irrelevant. The only force involved is that of the wind...you MUST have a power source, and the wind is it. Build your generator to extract only a little power from the wind, and you'll get low output with the tree deflecting a bit less than what it did before being hooked up to the cables. Build your generator to extract lots of the power available, and the tree will no longer sway very much, it's effectively guyed in place. If your generator can extract both power from the wind pushing, and power from the tree springing back, you will salvage a slight amount of wasted energy, since the elasticity of the tree stored some potential energy.
You folks need to get back to the basic physics here -- the ONLY power available here is from the wind. Bending the tree or the sail X amount is taking up 100% of the power available in the wind, after all losses ranging from Betz to 'sail' and generator efficiency are factored in. The more resistance to movement you place on the tree from the generator's extraction of available energy, the less the tree will move-- a decreasing spiral of math that will land you firmly on the physics of "how much power is available in the wind, and how much can we extract?" THERE IS NO EXTRA ENERGY HERE. The wind is the only source. The more you try to extract, the less the tree will bend.
I'm not even slightly impressed by patents -- thousands of unworkable ideas have been patented. This sounds like yet another.
This topic is pretty marginal for this discussion board -- but we left it up since it's becoming 'hot' with lots of replies.
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