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Lightning as an energy source | |||||||||||||||||
Lightning rods are attached to tall buildings and other structures to provide protection in the event of a lightning strike. In this day and age, with acessible energy becoming scarce (or at least that which we bother to collect), any chance to attain sustainable energy should be seized. When lightning strikes a lightning rod, the energy exerted is carried safely down the side of the structure to the ground. But why to the ground? Surely the sensible thing to to would be to connect the rod to a capacitor and collect the huge quantities of free, enviromentally friendly electricity. With buildings like the C. N Tower in Toronto clocking up more than 200 strikes per year, surely an enterprise such as this would be cost effective? MediumDifficulty
MediumDifficulty, Sep 02 2007
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A couple reasons.
Lightning is very dangerous. Getting rid of it to protect people, equipment, structures, and other things. is of utmost importance.
Lightning is very spontaneous and unpredictable. If it were technically practical to collect lightning and store it to convert to conventional power, it may not be economically practical, due to the sporadic nature of it.
one day it will happen.
fyi, based on a strike being 1gw, for one second, with energy prices at 6 cents /kwh - one lightning bolt is worth 17000$!
I think it is possible i live in florida and we have alot of lighting even if it is not a steady source it is still an available one theres no reason you could not build some kind of huge battery for the lighting to charge the only problem would be making sure it could handle the surge from so much raw electricity going into it all at once.
otherwise it might explode not really something you want in your basement