Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumIf the First Solar Entrepreneur Hadn't Been Kidnapped, Would Fossil Fuels Have Dominated the 20th Century
the Way They Did?
While researching the economics of clean energy innovation, I came across a little-known story: that of Canadian inventor George Cove, one of the worlds first renewable energy entrepreneurs. Cove invented household solar panels that looked uncannily similar to the ones being installed in homes today they even had a rudimentary battery to keep power running when the sun wasnt shining. Except this wasnt in the 1970s. Or even the 1950s. This was in 1905.
Standard Oil, led by the worlds first billionaire John D. Rockefeller, squashed competition so thoroughly that it compelled the government to introduce antitrust laws to combat monopolies.
.webp
https://www.desmog.com/2023/10/18/if-the-first-solar-entrepreneur-hadnt-been-kidnapped-would-fossil-fuels-have-dominated-the-20th-century-the-way-they-did/
redqueen
(115,172 posts)And reclaim oil profits
Monsters, all of them
Caribbeans
(1,038 posts)Kind of made that a bad idea
Then Hank and Dick sealed the deal for the future.
Is it hard to see that the USA's very economy was tied to OIL since the early 1970's???
Indeed.
redqueen
(115,172 posts)but now they're ruining the planet and they knew they were doing it while they lied about it
So yeah, nationalize it and seize profits. Make all the oil barons paupers.
I can dream
Progressive dog
(7,300 posts)It would have been less efficient than the thermal panels used for heating. His device used thermocouples which are used in lots of temperature measuring devices. Many propane/natural gas fireplaces use a stack of thermocouples to turn on the gas but only if the pilot is burning. So NO, theremocouples are not solar cells and use an entirely different and much less efficient technology.
scipan
(2,652 posts)The principal part of my invention is the peculiar composition of the metallic plugs which are acted upon by the sun in such a way that the current is generated not only by heat rays but the violet rays as well.
However, after further experiments with both the wood stove and solar energy, Cove states:
When the machine is exposed to various sources of artificial heat it gives no electricity whatsoever. Other than the heat rays of the sun (short-wave infrared), perhaps the violet or ultraviolet rays are active in setting up the electrical current.
Progressive dog
(7,300 posts)There actually is a scientific reason why thermocouples don't make electricity when both junctions are at the same temperature. There have to be at least 2 thermocouple junctions to make a complete circuit.
There is no perhaps about why UV or visible radiation doesn't make electricity in thermocouples.
Any radiation reflected from a thermocouple can't be used to make electricity. Apparently Cove never heard of flat black paint.
Measuring Junctions
A measuring junction is the hot end of the thermocouple. This junction is where the two wires meet, and where temperature is measured. There are three kinds of measuring junctions:
Exposed junction Nothing protects the wire ends, meaning that they can rust or get damaged over time.
Grounded junction A metal sheath covers the wires (usually stainless steel). This design is much more stable and long-lasting.
Ungrounded junction In this case, the sheath is not connected electrically to the wires. An ungrounded junction is less susceptible to electromagnetic interference.
Reference Junctions
The reference junction is the other side of the thermocouple, or the cold connection. To get an accurate thermocouple readout, you need to know the wires temperature at resthence the term reference. The reference junction is often built into the display instrument, so the user wont even see it.
https://calfinewire.com/materials/thermocouple-wire/