Getting power from Atmospheric Pressure Differences

[wooferhound]

Anybody ever heard of this . . .

Deriving Power from Atmospheric Pressure Differences over Geographically-Spaced Sites - New method of power generation proposes to harness the difference in atmospheric pressure between locations 100 to 200 miles apart, with reliability comparable to coal, nuclear, gas, and hydro, but at a cost substantially lower, and with no pollution

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:Cold_Energy_LLC

[Beaufort]

Interesting, but the skeptic comments on that page illustrate the obvious major flaws in such a system (pipe friction, variations in barometric conditions).  Still, I'd rather have a 200 mile air conduit over the countryside than a 200 mile long oil pipeline. 

Going vertical with this type of system is proving to hold more promise.  This takes advantage of a chimney effect from heating the ground around a pipe, and would seem to be much more predictable than this one.  I think there is a slight pressure differential in these systems for going vertical, which helps.  Last I saw, the first large-scale one would be built in Australia.

[zap]

An idea similar to this but on a much smaller scale...

My Dad's a mining engineer and I learned a lot about mines when I was young.  In my 20s and 30s I did a lot of prospecting which entailed a lot of hiking around Colorado and some around New Mexico and also saw me in many caves and mines.
Bigger caves and mines always breath... the bigger the system the more air moves, either in or out depending on atmospheric pressure, temperature, etc.
Sometimes the speed and amount can be impressive.
I always thought that plugging all the holes except one could yield some pretty descent power.

For 30 years I've wanted to "own" a cave to experiment on how much power could be made with such an arrangement.

[TomW]

Hmmm, are not winds due to differences in atmospheric pressures?

Just my first thought. Never clicked the link.

Tom

[zap]

Hmmm, are not winds due to differences in atmospheric pressures?

Well... yes...
Winds are mainly due to uneven heating of the earth's surface.  It's this uneven heating that causes differences in atmospheric pressure.

What the system linked by woof does is concentrate that pressure differential.  If you live in the right spot, you already have wind and don't need that system?

[joestue]

I'm not convinced. the viscosity of pushing air down a 40 foot diameter tube, 200 miles long leaves much to be desired.