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

heavy duty windturbine that harnesses the power of a tornado
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there are several parts of the world that tornados are common and are frequently seen, why not use this knowledge by building a series of wind turbines that sit facing up in the ground covered by a gaurd of some sort, then when a tornado hits, press a button which onpens them all up and helps to charge a thousand batteries, which... then help to power torches to look for people who have gone missing... or whatever you like
nickname, Jun 16 2008

Tornado Density http://www.hprcc.un...atoday-aug12x3.html
"The map above shows more detail than just a state breakdown, which is why only parts of Oklahoma and Texas are in black - more than six tornadoes per year per 10,000 square miles." [Klaatu, Jun 17 2008]

Interactive Tornado Map http://www.wundergr...on=-98.27271&zoom=7
Try to find 2 tornadoes in the same place [Klaatu, Jun 17 2008]

[link]






       The economics aren't there. Although tornados may seem common, the number of seconds that a tornado spends above a predetermined spot in a given year is somewhere near zero. So you are proposing to build generators (at a resoundingly non-zero cost) with an expected output of zero Watts.   

       People do invest in worse ideas, though.
Texticle, Jun 16 2008
  

       I am intrigued of the idea of corralling tornadoes but I think the better idea is man made tornadoes, see this month’s Popular Mechanics.
MisterQED, Jun 17 2008
  

       Good luck catching a tornado when they average 6+ tornadoes per 10,000 square miles. <link>
Klaatu, Jun 17 2008
  

       didn't we do this last year "trailer park wind turbines"
FlyingToaster, Jun 17 2008
  

       Why would the Halfbakery be concerned about economics?   

       Place one of these devices every hundred feet or so, and have the batteries that they charge power the monitoring equipment that automatically raises or lowers them as the wind reaches a threshold level.
normzone, Jun 17 2008
  

       If recent suggestions on the HB are to be believed, you could make millions of conductive coils and gather the energy as they are moved (by the tornado) through Earth's magnetic field, harnessing // forces strong enough to move the smallest magnetic needle //.
4whom, Jun 18 2008
  

       Here in Oklahoma a much better idea is wind farms. Which are being built. We have wind almost every day. Tornados? Not quite so often despite common knowledge. It'd be harder to catch one.   

       If only there were some way to harness the incredible power of a tornado. Or a hurricane. Or a herd of three year old children.
Noexit, Jun 18 2008
  
      
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