Reply To: Focus fusion and transportation

[Aeronaut]

Brian H wrote:

Hmm….

So, the HVDC systems us AC transformers to change the voltage at each end, rectify/invert to/from DC at that voltage, etc.

SO, if you want a DC tranmission/distribution/household use system, at each step you invert to AC, use a conventional transformer to change the voltage up or down, then rectify back to DC…

Why would this be better???

If somebody (say a Peer) really wanted to do HVDC, we could generate the DC by re-fitting the Hoover Dam’s powerhouse with Faraday Disks. I suppose said Peer would have a strong position in copper futures, of course…

Aero;
Peer? No Peers in America. Moguls, senators, and Pork Kings, yes, but no Peers.

Rematog;
Each of those “steps” is lossy, of course. I suppose if the power is cheap enough, you don’t care, though.

Peers do officially sanctioned science. The Faraday Disk is the world’s oldest DC generator design and is still used when lots of DC amps are needed at a really low voltage and the price of the input power can be ignored. Scale this up to the pork level, and I suppose you could get any DC volt/amp output you wanted. Good job for a big computer- I’d guess around 80 disks, with diameters of at least twenty feet.

And all that still might be cheaper to build and operate than the readily apparent ways.