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Entropy
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This is just a silly idea I had. Probably will never happen but interesting to talk about I think.
If a substance could be developed that easily reacted with neutrinos could it become a revolutionary power source?
First let's see how much power we could derive if we took all the energy from all the neutrinos that pass through 1 meter per second on the Earth's surface.
Neutrino Flux at the Earth's surface:
[tex]\nu_f = 5 \times 10^{10}[/tex][tex]{}{neutrinos} / {m^2 \cdot {s}}[/tex]
Average Energy per Neutrino:
[tex]E_\nu = 0.81{}MeV = 1.30 \time 10^{-13}{}J[/tex]
[tex]{\nu_f} \cdot {E_\nu} = 0.007{}{J} / {m^2 \cdot {s}}[/tex]
Hmm... Some what of a let down. 0.007 J / m s isn't very much at all. BUT, it would work anywhere on Earth at any time (ignoring minior changing in neutrino flux rates) with no pollution. Unlike solar power you wouldn't need to put it on roof top or in flat sunny open land. They could be underground inside buildings or anywhere.
Another thing will be long term power for spacecraft seeing how it would work anywhere in the solar system, well close to the sun anyways, but regular solar power would probably be better. But maybe high energy cosmic neutrinos could supply ample power? Comments?
If a substance could be developed that easily reacted with neutrinos could it become a revolutionary power source?
First let's see how much power we could derive if we took all the energy from all the neutrinos that pass through 1 meter per second on the Earth's surface.
Neutrino Flux at the Earth's surface:
[tex]\nu_f = 5 \times 10^{10}[/tex][tex]{}{neutrinos} / {m^2 \cdot {s}}[/tex]
Average Energy per Neutrino:
[tex]E_\nu = 0.81{}MeV = 1.30 \time 10^{-13}{}J[/tex]
[tex]{\nu_f} \cdot {E_\nu} = 0.007{}{J} / {m^2 \cdot {s}}[/tex]
Hmm... Some what of a let down. 0.007 J / m s isn't very much at all. BUT, it would work anywhere on Earth at any time (ignoring minior changing in neutrino flux rates) with no pollution. Unlike solar power you wouldn't need to put it on roof top or in flat sunny open land. They could be underground inside buildings or anywhere.
Another thing will be long term power for spacecraft seeing how it would work anywhere in the solar system, well close to the sun anyways, but regular solar power would probably be better. But maybe high energy cosmic neutrinos could supply ample power? Comments?