h a l f b a k e r y
No, not that kind of baked.
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What is your energy source for the microwave? |
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You would need electricity to generate microwaves. I'm afraid this would be spectacularly large and inefficient compared to an electric motor. Maybe as a theoretical tool for experiments on stirling engines, or if you had a cheap source of microwaves such as a handy rotating neutron star.
Meanwhile, other uses for microwaves (link) |
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Dont you see though? The power source could be located a long way away from the engine itself. You could fly planes without ever taking fuel up with you. |
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[dejapong], this is mildly cool, but wildly inefficient. You'd be better off shining lasers on a photocell.
I'd like to see this in a Rube Goldberg machine, but that's about it. |
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Might by a way of powering a space elevator, but a rectenna and electric motor seems like the most efficient means of microwave power transmission. |
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So you're taking electricity, converting it to microwaves, and using these microwaves to heat the working fluid in a stirling engine? |
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Yes, stirling engines are efficient, but what do you gain from this that you don't gain from directly using the electrical energy? If you're trying to achieve beamable power, please realize that there are ways to gather transmitted energy that are more efficient than the method which you propose. |
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However...this is the halfbakery. My votes don't have to make sense. [+] for thinking outside the box. |
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Microwave ovens are already tuned for absorption by water. I presume steam in your case. But why would you incur the enormous losses of a high quality energy energy (electricity of electromagnetic radiation) being used in a thermal engine. If you want to fly a plane use the energy as electricity. Microwave can be used for wireless power transmission. I think NASA has some papers on it. They also proposed beaming solar energy to earth not as light but as microwaves. |
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How about the people in the plane? Will they get cooked as 90% of a human body is water? |
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fairly inefficient as you would be using electricity to produce microwaves to produce heat to produce mechanical energy to produce electricity - which is what you started with. BAD IDEA |
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