Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'

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Infinite energy from Vampires
Grind beans and pour water on them.
  (+19, -6)(+19, -6)
(+19, -6)
  [vote for,
against]


No, don't grind beans and pour water on them, I'm kidding. That would be silly.

Axioms:
Vampires can't be seen in mirrors.
Vampires can be seen from behind.
Light can be both created and collected to produce energy.
Light which isn't sunlight won't hurt vampires.
Vampires are relatively low maintainance.
Vampires can be made to wear light-coloured cloaks.

Deductions:
If a vampire stands in front of a mirror, light must be created. From the rear, the vampire can be seen, hence light appears to be behaving normally.
However, looking in the mirror the vampire can not be seen. Therefore the light is somehow being duplicated. This 'free' energy could be used as a source of power.

Explanation:
Suppose we place a light source and a vampire between two facing mirrors. The light produced will bounce between the mirrors many times as if the vampire were not present. In addition, for each bounce the light will reflect off the vampire, generating more light.

The original light source can then be removed. We can rely on the extra generated planar light to sustain the process, negating losses from sub-perfect mirrors. In fact 'modulators': automatically regulated, sloping, partially reflective sheets of glass may be required to avoid too much light combusting the vampire.

The majority of the extra light created will reflect off the vampire out from between the two mirrors. Energy from this source can be collected in perpetuity.

Remember to feed the vampire every now and then; a pinta every few months or so should sustain it.


Loris, Sep 06 2004

fireplace, packet of fags and a bottle of whisky but no mirror... http://www.crystalinks.com/shc.html
[po, Oct 04 2004]

Bat - 1,000 species world wide (all colours) http://www.uksafari.com/bats.htm
[po, Oct 04 2004]

brown and red bats http://www.national...t/bats/species.html
[po, Oct 04 2004]

Werewolf [but I think I meant vampire] lunar mitigation courier company http://www.halfbake...20courier_20company
Free energy could defray the enormous costs of this enterprise [hippo, Oct 04 2004]


Short name, e.g., Bob's Coffee

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Description (displayed with the short name and URL.)







       If you just mirror-coat the vampire, you should be able to double the energy you put in about 1 million times per second (for two mirrors about 6 ft apart).   

       Given that, I wonder if those reports of "spontaneous human combustion" aren't cases of vampires inadvertently getting caught between two mirrors.

jutta, Sep 06 2004
  

       That would certainly explain why just an occasional, intact, leg was found. Didn't have a full length mirror!

gnomethang, Sep 06 2004
  

       I was thinking this would be something like a treadmill and cloves of garlic. But this is infinitly better.

swimr, Sep 06 2004
  

       //That would certainly explain why just an occasional, intact, leg was found. Didn't have a full length mirror!// but where did the mirror go?

po, Sep 06 2004
  

       PA-THET-IC. I don't see how a loser idea like this that will never work gets two corssaints and yet my other ideas that are perfectly workable get many many fish.   

       Seriously you guys... this is pathetic.

EvilPickels, Sep 06 2004
  

       Do you ever *search* for mirrors at a crime scene [po]?. I reckon that they concentrate on the stiff in the middle of the room.

gnomethang, Sep 06 2004
  

       I seen the pictures! I am gory like that!

po, Sep 06 2004
  

       If, as you say, light is reflected from vampires, not their mirrors, vampire light cannot be used as described.   

       However, if you line up a bunch of vampires, you could form a one-way view privacy wall. Use a mirror to see through the wall.

Amos Kito, Sep 06 2004
  

       Psst... [EvilPickels]. We know it'll never work - vampires are far too clever to be exploited like this. But denigrating other people's ideas won't win you any croissants. Have a look at the Centrifugal Bucket Method idea to see what a can of worms you're opening.

Edit: [Amos], I like your idea. You should post it. Loris' physics appears sound as well though - when a ray of light hits a vampire standing infront of a mirror, it must be reflected (else people wouldn't be able to see the vamp) and it must also be transmitted out the other side (else people looking in the mirror wouldn't be able to see what's behind ol' Drac. ) As the bakesperson points out, your main problem is going to be the reactor overheating. I suggest filling the mirror-chamber with smoke to absorb some of the light and dampen the exponential increase in energy. [+]

Edit again: Erm, I appear to be taking this way too seriously.

spacemoggy, Sep 06 2004
  

       After the vampire has eaten the pinta, what do we do with all of the extra ninas and santa marias?

RayfordSteele, Sep 06 2004
  

       whatever floats your boat.

po, Sep 06 2004
  

       I wonder if there are vampire cats we could stick buttered toast to and then drop onto well-lit mirrors...

hippo, Sep 06 2004
  

       At first sight this looks workable, but as with all these free energy ideas the laws of thermodynamics prevail. Any Vampire placed between two mirrors will instantaneously transform into a bat. Bats are simply black; no energy can be extracted from them.

Fussass, Sep 06 2004
  

       //vampires are far too clever to be exploited like this//

So how come they appeared in all those low budget Hammer movies then eh? Eh?


//Vampires can't be seen in mirrors//

Ah, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they don't cast a reflection in a mirror. Just that normal people can't see it.

<goes away to ponder that one for a bit...>

DrBob, Sep 06 2004
  

       I'm with [DrBob] (not literally, however). If vampires don't cast reflections in mirrors, how come they're always so immaculately (as opposed to imma-cute-ly) presented then?

PeterSilly, Sep 06 2004
  

       No I wasn't trying to down play this idea, for all I care this idea could go on about gnomes and unicorns for all I care I just don't understand how something that would never work could get so many crossaints, and a topic like my global warming movie one could get so many fish! I mean it works, it is workable, and it might actually help people be more aware. Yet only 2 +'s...   

       And somehow people seem to be explaining the wrong things all over the reverser machine one... I won't drag this whole mess into this thread but still... I don't make none sense it aint.

EvilPickels, Sep 06 2004
  

       Peter's on to something here. You can't look that perfect by accident every time. They must be casting a reflection that can only be seen by themselves, other vampires, and likely the occasional gifted human. Therefore no "free energy". I'm tempted to mfd this for bad science. (+).

lintkeeper2, Sep 06 2004
  

       All vampires have their own hairdressers.   

       If normal people can't see them, perhaps the light created by the vampirical lasing medium is only useful to normal people, and not "special" people.   

       Therefore, special people won't have special perpetual energy, because vampires have hairdressers.

destructionism, Sep 06 2004
  

       Presumably there is a problem with reflectivity on vampires' backs. Perhaps we could stand a pair of them back to back? That should cut down on a lot of the energy losses and mitigate the overheating issue.   

       To prevent automatic shutdown we should build a cage from EPNS wire, to prevent the vampire/s simply flying away.

UnaBubba, Sep 06 2004
  

       + This type of idea is what keeps me coming back. Well thought out, total rubbish. ;)   

       (because you would have to pay the vampire handlers so much due to the high risk it would not be cost effective)

Lacus Trasumenus, Sep 06 2004
  

       Too much at stake?   

       If the vampire/s were to be coated with a highly reflective coating, as [jutta] suggests, would there be a net energy gain? Do they emit light, or absorb it?   

       I'm having trouble figuring this out, from what little I know of vampires.

UnaBubba, Sep 07 2004
  

       [UB] I think there would be a net energy gain. However, more worryingly, a perfectly reflective coating all over might inadvertantly protect them from being vapourised by sunlight, thus aloowing vampires to come out in the daylight.
Whilst this may be dangerous for us, I can see a lot of Vampires picking up on this, as it would mean they could get out a lot more.
I heard a Vampire gto killed last week by a famous vampire hunter. Unfortunately, his weapon of choice was a cheap chinese import, which disintegrated as he tried to nail it into his bloodsucking victim. However, he still died. It seems that although the main weapon didn't pierce his heart, some of the smaller pieces which broke off did the job.
Which just proves that too much stake and chips really isn't good for you.

goff, Sep 07 2004
  

       btw, [evilpickles] if you don't understand why this idea gets buns and yours doesn't, then you've missed the point of this place.

goff, Sep 07 2004
  

       Pickles - consider why you bun people. Now consider why other people bun people. Now have a look at one of the biggest and best repositories of utter rubbish on the internet:   

       http://www.halfbakery.com/user/FarmerJohn   

       Bun city!   

       Back on topic - Perpetual Vampire Motion Machine, who can argue with that? I'm off to get Christopher Lee into my bathroom quick.

wagster, Sep 07 2004
  

       1st of all, vampires don't "make" light, they're undead, not light bulbs. Light bounces off them like anything else. However they may absorb light in such a way that will not allow it to be reflected. Vampires may be using this absorbed energy in some way. It would also explain why they die in sunlght: overload.

the great unknown, Jan 18 2007
  

       Good point. I knew there was a flaw in this idea, but I couldn't quite figure it out.   

       P.S. [jutta], I absolutely love the category.

hidden truths, Jan 18 2007
  

       Presumably the energy output is measured in Vaults and vAmperes.

csea, Jan 18 2007
  

       "ampires may be using this absorbed energy in some way. It would also explain why they die in sunlght: overload"   

       What if the idea is changed to one that captures the energy of a vampire dying in the sunlight? Based on the (slight) evidence available, a dying vampire relasese quite a bit of energy in the process. I'm imagining a farm of exploding vampires.

Noexit, Jan 18 2007
  

       // Presumably the energy output is measured in Vaults and vAmperes.// That was truly Awful, [csea].
Well Done!

gnomethang, Jan 18 2007
  

       [tgu] Hmm. I think it's a frame of reference thing. If you stand behind the vampire - no, I'm running off too - if you place a camera or assistant behind the vampire, you will see light reflected off them from, say, a torch held in your hand. If you peer round the vampire to look at the mirror, you'll see the torchlight reflected off the mirror. Twice as much light has been reflected back to you as you initially shone out. Now make the torch solar powered (knew there was a use for em somewhere) and voila, perpetual energy source.   

       Note that I seamlessly manoeuvre you into the position of vampire-illuminating assistant. [+]

david_scothern, Jan 19 2007
  

       This idea might actually tap the energy from Hell, using a vampire as a conduit. Once Hell freezes over it will stop working, but in the interim it would have the benefit of reducing infernal temperatures and improving occupant comfort.

bungston, Jan 19 2007
  

       I would like to bun [d_s]'s invention of a modified vampire/solar torch power supply. I would also like to bun [bung]'s suggestion of helping the beleagured occupants of hades.

wagster, Jan 19 2007
  

       //Once Hell freezes over//
I WILL get that date with Claudia Meyer.

methinksnot, Jan 19 2007
  

       It would seem more probable that the extra photons are generated by the vampire's metabolism (which is in turn fuelled by the blood of the innocent.) This would represent an evolutionary adaptation to stalking prey armed with mirrors.   

       Because the alternative, physically impossible vampires, is clearly _preposterous_.

Ninjacrat, Jan 20 2007
  

       well maybe this isn't do fantastic if you suppose the following: 1. the human soul has a mass of approximately 21 grams. No kidding: it was measured scientifically, albeit with a small sample of only a few passers-away, way back in 1906 or so. Oddly, the experiment was never repeated. 2. mass and energy are equivalent, according to the equation e=mc^2. By my calcs thats about 4 * 10^72 gigajoules.. 3. perhaps vampires feed not on the blood that they suck but on the "soul energy" of their victims. If all this is true then maybe we could figure out a way to tap into the energy flow that vampires exploit. Selling your soul starts to look pretty profitable, with energy prices in the range $5-20 per GJ.. just a thought

iron_horse, Jan 20 2007
  

       No doubt a vampire naked is not reflectable but I have never seen a film of a naked vampire. Where do the vampires get their clothes that do not show in a mirror?

JSand, Jan 22 2007
  

       I think vampires have no reflections or shadows because they are not what they seem. The physical manifestation of a vampire does not correspond to their impression on our senses, which is an hallucination. They don't retransmit light. Then again, if they did, it would explain why they had no shadows. Their clothes are also hallucinatory.

nineteenthly, Jan 22 2007
  

       If garlic repels vampires, does it follow that garlic attracts virgins?

molecat, Jan 22 2007
  

       Do gay vampires drain male virgins? And what spice repels gay vampires? Perhaps pepper spray.

JSand, Jan 23 2007
  

       All in all it seems likely vampires are constituted of dark matter. Since calculations have indicated that the stratagems of vampire operation would, in a relatively sort time, turned all creatures into vampires, this matches well with the indication that the overhelming bulk of matter in the universe is dark matter. The most obviously visible members of this tribe are mosquitoes. I doubt anyone has taken the trouble to watch a squashed mosquito reassemble itself to confirm this. The only way to be sure of killing these vicious beasts is a wooden toothpick through the heart.

JSand, Jan 23 2007
  

       //what spice repels gay vampires? // Scary Spice

BunsenHoneydew, Jan 23 2007
  

       It is simple to avoid exponential catastrophic heat gain.   

       Just add a beam splitting cube lens on both sides of the whole array. Every time a new light beam is doubled by the vampire, each copy is split in half again by the cube before it gets back to the vampire to redouble back to its former strength. Do this in combination with a diamond reflection path, instead of straight linear back and forth, and you will obtain light equilibrium, with all of the exhaust energy vented out to the side through the beam splitter, to be collected by a generator.   

       Put the beamsplitter on a little retractable motor, and you can even control the power output, much like the cadmium rods in a nuclear power plant, by splitting a larger or smaller %age of the light. The distance between fully immersed and fully retracted cubes would be on the order of microns, though, since light can get out of control so damn quickly.

Smurfsahoy, Mar 16 2007
  


 
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