It's nice to return home after a busy day. Go through the hallway, a snap of the apartment came to life, warmly painted room in soft tones lamp. Another click - and poured pleasant music, and a few minutes later sallocator boiling kettle... Electricity and all that is connected with it, have become something taken for granted. We do not even think about where it comes from, and what will be our life, if - God forbid! suddenly simultaneously disappear gas, coal, oil, will cease to produce the current power station... And if that still imagine for a minute?

Deeper - into the mysteries of nature

Scientists, and after them and entrepreneurs have long been studying the use of new energy sources. Of course, in the process of search, there are many questions, including financial, are available, their effectiveness. But every day science more deeply into the mysteries of nature, and engineering gradually embodies ideas of scientists in life.

Let's consider some of them, such as the project of the conversion of Solar energy into electricity with the use of batteries crystalline silicon, or - focussing the rays of daylight shone through the system of lenses and mirrors. The second method is effective in the open air and has been used successfully in southern countries such as Israel, Greece, Turkey. There was even a term such insolation, i.e. the exposure of the surface to sunlight. Accordingly, the more insolation, the more energy you can get. However, much depends not on the bounty of the sun, and how the country has succeeded in technology. For example, in Germany thanks to solar energy getting noticeably bigger than in many "hot" North African countries.

By the way, in ancient times, people have learned to "communion with the Sun." The bottom of the wooden box was painted inside with black paint and top covered with glass. Passing through it, the sun's rays heat the bottom drawer of 70-90 degrees. Than not the first microwave!..

Let stronger break out... the wind!

Wind turbines operate on the principle vane - where the wind blows, there he turns. , An analogy with blades of windmills, due to the rotation of which millstones grind grain into flour. In the windmill same blades drive shaft generator, generating electricity. Turns out a sort of machine on the battery with the action "on the contrary": not the battery leads the car in motion, and it charges the battery.

The cost of home wind turbine is comparable to the price of a budget car, but it, unfortunately, low power - generating an average of only 5 to 20 kW. This noisy. To get electricity on an industrial scale, need dozens and dozens of wind turbines, giving 100 kW and more. But, first, for their installation requires large areas of land on which to walk the wind with a speed not less than 8-50 kilometers per hour, and secondly, the "growth" of each turbine is comparable to the height of the building. Forest of these "poles" will create harmful interference to radio communications, will become an obstacle for small aircraft. And in freezing weather, even with high atmospheric pressure, wind may not even exist - and then expensive windmills will be only the Scarecrow for birds. In General, this source of electricity can be applied not everywhere.

But it is known that the inquiring mind wants to benefit from the most. Two years ago, the American enthusiast Rick Cavallaro installed wind engine in your car and moved it faster than the speed of wind. However, for a start, he had to disperse his "chariot" manually - that the propeller spin.

The moon in the night helpers

The country is surrounded by seas, successfully used the energy of the tides. For this dam is built across the Bay or estuary. This forms a pool. In the wall of the dam made water-holes and installed turbines. During the tides hole that opens, then closes, constantly creating a difference between the water level in the pool and sea level. The water fell on the blades of the turbines that spin generator, producing electricity. For successful work of such power fluctuations of the sea level shall be not less than four meters. While we are on Earth, by the way, where tidal water reaches eighteen meters. Itself mother nature with the lunar attraction twice a day unlimited supplies free raw seawater. Only have time - use the natural heart. To spend money when it falls mainly to the construction.

But the advantages of this method are overlapping environmental disadvantages. In the area of the dam is broken natural exchange of salt and fresh water, to the detriment of flora and fauna. Because it violated natural flow of water masses, over time, changing the climate of the region. And if the dam operates the heating plant, operating at the temperature of sea water, emit a lot of carbon dioxide, contributing to the development of the greenhouse effect. Yes, and the natural balance of the water temperature will be broken: deep water becomes warmer than the surface. So, this is also not ideal.

The heat of the earth pantries

There are geothermal station, transforming the Earth's heat into electricity. They are built in areas that are rich in hot underground springs, as, for example, in Kamchatka. As drilling every 36 meters downhole temperature increases by ten degrees. And in the center of the Earth, according to scientists, it reaches 6000 degrees. Here is the source! From the underground niches natural steam is piped into the turbine connected to a generator. It would seem, all is fine, but the use of underground steam - direct intervention in nature, which could lead to subsidence of the soil and the awakening of seismic activity. And the noise from these power plants are many. It happens that from the earth's interior, as of the underworld, pulled out toxic fumes.

And yet... the construction of such power plants is very promising, because the reserves of underground energy is practically inexhaustible. For example, if you delve into the crust at least ten kilometers, it is possible to "deflate" from the depths of as much energy as would not give all oil and gas reserves combined. And this is just the height of mount Everest or the depth of the Mariinsky basin, where people have already been reached. Yes and ease of operation of these stations is surprising. Hot water can immediately put into the house, as do, for example, in Iceland and Japan. Cheap electricity to compensate the people of the danger of living in the area of volcanic activity.

In recent times is considered to be promising hydrogen energy, because stocks of hydrogen in the oceans to mankind enough time. The advantages of this fuel is obvious: it is environmentally safe, because instead of exhaust gases formed ordinary water is not toxic, it can be stored for long periods, etc. However, obtaining energy from hydrogen costs are still very expensive, as all the currently known methods of decomposition of water - chemical, thermal, electrolysis and other - based on the use of scarce minerals. And then, as they say, is the game worth the candle?

We deliberately concealed now about nuclear energy, bioenergy and other risky methods of energy production, which is much debate. Watch what other suggestions issues to the surface engineering of our contemporaries.

Click on asphalt and asphalt...!

Enterprising engineers from the British company Highview Power Storage smart enough to cool the air to a liquid state by using excess electricity during the recession of consumption. Canned air is stored in special insulated containers. In the case of the energy needs of their contents using atmospheric heat is heated to a gaseous state. At that, the air begins to boil and increases in the volume of 700 times, setting in motion of the turbine. This is followed, as in conventional thermal stations. Specialists of the Israeli company Innowattech came up with a fundamentally new environmentally friendly source of electricity with the help of piezoelectric generator. It is based on the effect of creating an electrical voltage in mechanical deformation of special materials - dielectrics.

With this generator can be turned into energy force pressure, for example, a vehicle on the road on which it is moving. In other words, cars running along the highway, under which the generators, and the lights are burning through this movement. Yes the traffic lights - ten-kilometer site of such a road, engineers are able to produce energy in tens of megawatts, enough to light up and warm thousands of homes. Although it is not already open. In the Tokyo underground at several stations installed piezoelectric floors, producing energy from literally steps passengers. In the Netherlands, in one of the clubs of Rotterdam, the dance floor is built of piezoradiator, since dancing, without noticing it, produce electricity, enough to light the room. But scientists from the Institute of Technology in the U.S. state of Georgia has recently developed piezoradiator for charging a mobile phone right... in your pocket. Their colleagues from the University of Madison (Wisconsin) are close to creation of piezoradiator, which will produce electricity from the human breathing.
Sergey SUKHANOV