On 4/1/24 08:40, Timothy Collinson - timothy.collinson at port.ac.uk
(via tml list) wrote:
>
>
> On Tue, 2 Jan 2024 at 05:01, Alex Goodwin - alex.goodwin at
> multitel.com.au <http://multitel.com.au> (via tml list)
> <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> wrote:
>
> Hi there,
>
>
>     How about combining this with vortex engines (www.vortexengine.ca
>     <http://www.vortexengine.ca>)? In
>     short, small, artificial, controlled cyclones that let whatever heat
>     source they're cooling (such as unaltered land or sea surface) reject
>     heat to the stratosphere, constraining heat loss with spinning air
>     rather than structure. If the vortex separates from the base
>     structure
>     (eg due to a bit of a draft), it quickly dissipates as it's now
>     off its
>     heat source.
>
>
>
> Thank you for that.  Not seen that before.  Will have to explore. 
> Back at work tomorrow after the Christmas/New Year break so perhaps I
> can use it as an example search for students!
Happy to help.  Did those computer failure breakdowns by type (pun
intended) for fault-tolerant computers I gave you come in useful anywhere?
>
>     IIRC, another of classical OTEC's problems was its pants thermal
>     efficiency - Carnot limit ~7%.  The vortex engine mob seem to reckon
>     they can pull out 20% or so of the waste heat of the primary
>     process -
>     18% or so of the original heat input to the OTEC system, more than
>     tripling overall electrical output.  That's neglecting any direct
>     power
>     extraction from the surrounding sea surface.
>
>
> Ah, ok.  Though perhaps by the 56th century that's much better.
Doubt it. Assuming a hot side temp of 30 C (303 K) and a cold side of
273 K (deep seawater), that gives an upper thermodynamic bound on OTEC
thermal efficiency of 9.9%.
>
>
>     <snip>
>
>     ObTrav: Consider a balkanised oceanworld, one with comparatively
>     sod-all
>     land to start with and none available for an external party (such as
>     Terran Confederation, Zhodani Consulate, Ziru Sirka, etc) to bung a
>     downport on.  So space has to be built, in the form of (depending on
>     traffic) a roughly square PSP
>
>
> For a moment I was imagining something in the shape of a game
> controller until I remembered your pneumatically stabilised platform
> above!
That _would_ be able to cut more wave length, and the extended handles
would provide a nice sheltered anchorage, but the square one would be
easier to build.
>
>     <snip>
>
>     OTEC comes in to generate a bit of power and more importantly,
>     nutrient
>     upwellings to support fisheries.  The vortex engines are cooling
>     towers
>     (for all the waste heat generated) and power plants, backing up the
>     integral power generation.  The implicit intervention threat by the
>     external party helps keep a lid on platform-affecting shenanigans.
>
>
> Looking forward to reading your adventure on the subject...  :-)
>
> all the best
>
> tc
>
Doubt I'd be able to write up a canned adventure.  I've found I need the
players running on all cylinders to pull out half-decent adventures on
the fly.

Alex