Idea - Closed rain system

[haethae]

This system relies on evaporation and condensation and captures the energy from the falling drops.
water evaporates, saturates the air, then condenses at the top into droplets. When the droplets fall, they power a turbine and rejoin the pool. When the water evaporates, it takes energy, when it condenses, it releases it. For the water to condense, the surface has to be colder than the vapor. After the air is completely saturated, I'm not sure if it will condense, however, some ice on the top should insure that it does, but that would mean it wouldn't run completely on it's own. However, it shouldn't take more ice to condense at 1 foot rather than 100 feet. Making a very tall apparatus would have more energy out from the falling water than a shorter one, but they'd both take the same amount of ice. If you keep bringing down the temperature with ice, heat will probably also be required to keep it at operating temperatures, which makes this look a lot like a stirling engine.

[Cloxxki]

It's great!
When I think of HOW to get the air saturated, I end up running your device on solar power, though. While I'm sure it will work just fine, the amount of external input required may be used more efficiently in other ways.
Places like swimming pools might be converted to take maximum advantage from a sytem exactly like yours, I just fear it will be hard to run a single LED off it.
I feel you're on the right track though. With evaporation, we get near unlimited vertical gain "for free".

[Vortex]

The hotter the air is the more water it will hold. The hotter the water
is the more it will evaporate. The hotter both are the more humidity there
is and the lower the condensation temperature has to be.

If the air is 120 F and the humidity gets to, I forget now, 80 or 90 percent,
then condensation can happen some where above 100 degrees F.

I looked those numbers up when researching solar distillation. The important
thing to think about in evaporation and condensation,
is getting the air temperature up as high as possible to make it hold more humidity and condense at a lower temperature.

You can get drops without expending any energy via Capillary ..
without the need for evaporation and condensation.

Granted, it will not be enough to drive a turbine

I still do not know the limit, height of, the Capillary action can move the water.
See http://www.energeticforum.com/agricu...ead.php?t=4421

[tjnlsn255]

Interesting.....

Maybe solar heating/evaperation during the day and condensation at night.....no ice would be required.....keeping the batteries charged at night when the solar pannels are not working.... cool......

Tj

[haethae]

@Cloxxki
I could definitely see this working like a solar water heater. Maybe instead of a standalone engine, it could be used with a water heater to provide some sort of extra power it might need. if used with/as a water heater, then you'd just be maximizing use since none of the heat from the water would be taken away by operation.

@Vortex
Solar distilation should definitely have good information on this, thanks. And do you mean condense at a higher temperature? That would make more sense to me.

@tjnisn255
That would be a great way to maximize the use in solar heating.