Why not use the earth's core heat / volcanoes etc. as "fuel" for making steam to electricity. or a more direct use of the heat.. which is alreay there-- no nuclear eneergy needed.. just the volocano heat etc.
2007-12-25 07:48:44 · 8 answers · asked by msilv9009 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Volcanoes are unpredictable. They can erupt at any moment. Once erupted, the entire power plant would be destroyed. If there are any workers on site, they would be killed.
They are also incredibly hot. There are not many machines that could withstand the heat from the volcano because their materials would just melt, even if they are made from strong metals. Even if the machines are placed far enough from the volcano to withstand the heat and still obtain an adequate supply of thermal energy, the ground is not stable. Magma is a liquid and constantly flowing down and around the volcano.
Don't forget that the sun is hot enough for us to harness it's heat from Earth and produce electricity using solar cells. They are far more promising and becoming very efficient to produce non polluting electricity with.
2007-12-25 08:00:09 · answer #1 · answered by RoboPaul 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
from the 2nd law of thermodynamics - no engine can be more efficient than a reversible heat engine that works between the same two temperature.
total efficiency = 1- (Tcold/Thot)
temp hot and temp cold
this means that using kelvin the water would be about 400 k and Tcold would be normal room temp around 295 k. this makes a volcanic generator only about 25% eefficient if operating perfectly. and no resistance or friction and 100% of energy from lava is convered to electricity. only about 25%
many places around the world use geothermal energy and they do gain energy from the almost endless source of energy in the earth core. but to put a plant next to a volcano would just be dumb due to the fact that the volaco could errupt and kill everyone and that wind and solar are so safe as well as booming area of study which will be very benificial and do not have a wasted step of energy loss (conversion of liquid water to steam)
2007-12-25 07:59:31 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
As stated by others, it is already being done. The problem is that you need a shallow heat source (magma) and most places are not endowed with such fortune (if you call being in a risk area for a volcanic eruption as fortunate).
Individual heating and cooling for a building is used in many places by simple heat exchange with the near subsurface. It's still pretty expensive and has some associated issues but is one way to ween oneself of oil and gas heating.
2007-12-25 10:24:37 · answer #3 · answered by busterwasmycat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there are many different reasons. geothermic energy is not easily attained, there are only a certain amount of active volcanoes giving off heat. Also it is impossible for people to be in the area of an active volcano for extended periods due to the sulfuric gases. the safe harnessing is quite expensive to build and very dangerous. basically it is not worth the risk to energy companies
2007-12-25 07:56:32 · answer #4 · answered by Engr Dude 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
We do that - go to Iceland and several other places where geothermal energy is used for heating and electrical generation.
2007-12-25 14:18:10 · answer #5 · answered by Mike1942f 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it's called geo-thermal generation and there are a few incidents of it being used. as a long term solution it's not viable since you just can't trust volcanoes to stay in the same mode. they erupt and destroy all your high priced equipment.
2007-12-25 08:02:07 · answer #6 · answered by Loren S 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They already do in Iceland--it's called "geothermal energy."
2007-12-25 10:58:48 · answer #7 · answered by Charles M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
being done extensively in Iceland
heres an article
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power_in_Iceland
2007-12-25 08:03:17 · answer #8 · answered by DoctorSchultz 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋