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[-] Glowstick@lemmy.world 70 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Solar photovoltaic is the only one i can think of that isn't just a fancy way to make steam

EDIT

ok let's clarify to say a method that isn't related to movement of a fluid that spins a turbine. So not windmills (air is a fluid), not hydro, not geothermal, etc.

[-] NegativeInf@lemmy.world 40 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Piezoelectricity is the only other I can really think of. But it's not like we are out here smacking crystals with hammers to make power.

[-] agressivelyPassive@feddit.de 10 points 2 years ago

Why not, though?

On a serious note: that's exactly what we're doing with lighters. At least some of them use piezo elements and not the sparkly wheel thingy to ignite the gas. And it's real fun to zap yourself with it.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

Yeah, it was a fun journey of learning to look into it. It’s quartz btw. Very piezoelectric and extremely common.

[-] oxideseven@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 years ago

The conversion rate isn't great.

There were talks of using them in sidewalks, but it doesn't really make much sense really. Piezo almost always only works as energy recovery, which isn't nothing but you will need the infrastructure which also isn't nothing.

[-] Jyek@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 years ago

Wait a minute, what IF

[-] bl_r@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 years ago

Give buskers the acoustic guitar with a link to the grid and every time they play they’ll generate a ton of electricity (in relative terms…)

Electro-Acoustic guitars use piezos to pick up the audio if you didn’t know

[-] Glowstick@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Even if we used piezo, the movement of the hammer would still have to come from some power source, which would still be the same sources like moving steam, water, or wind.

[-] skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 years ago

piezoelectricity is just simple electric motor

[-] NegativeInf@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago
[-] skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 years ago

piezo crystal is electric motor. you input deformation of the crystal and get potential difference on opposite sides. other way around also works

[-] NegativeInf@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Oh! Gotcha! Makes sense. Forgot about crystal vibrations for clockworks. Thanks!

[-] skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 years ago

it's a special case there, because for frequencies in question mechanical quartz resonator has much higher Q than any electrical resonator you can practically build. that is, mechanical properties of piezo crystal stabilize voltage oscillations

[-] Voyajer@lemmy.world 21 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

All power generation is either solar or 'make thing spin', unless we're including RTGs and Piezoelectrics.

[-] rainynight65@feddit.de 3 points 2 years ago

But not all electricity generation is based on boiling water. Wind, hydro and tidal don't need to generate large amounts of heat to make steam that spins a turbine, they just use natural movement to do so.

[-] Voyajer@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago

Yes, make thing spin

[-] wewbull@feddit.uk 1 points 2 years ago
[-] Voyajer@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

That's the principle used by RTGs right?

[-] skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 years ago

All of these are in some way heat engines

[-] herrvogel@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

Yeah but those heat engines don't rely on spinning things inside a magnetic field. Heat on one side, less heat on the other side, and you have current. No motors.

[-] skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 years ago

even photovoltaics are heat engines in broad definition

[-] herrvogel@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

We're all heat engines on this blessed day if you broaden the definition enough.

[-] Steve@startrek.website 0 points 2 years ago
[-] Turun@feddit.de 3 points 2 years ago

Yes? Makes things spin.

[-] lledrtx@lemmy.world 17 points 2 years ago
[-] drolex@sopuli.xyz 40 points 2 years ago
[-] spechter@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Seriously though

Also hydroelectric

[-] someguy3@lemmy.ca 13 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)
[-] agressivelyPassive@feddit.de 3 points 2 years ago

By that logic, solar is just a huge pile of steam undergoing fusion.

[-] Zehzin@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

Plasma is spicy steam

[-] lledrtx@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

You know that's a stretch 😉 but I'll give it to you. But we are not MAKING wind/steam there.

[-] ForgotAboutDre@lemmy.world 12 points 2 years ago

Hydro power uses running water not hot water.

Squeezing can be converter to electricity with pizeo electric. Heat difference can be converted into electric directly with peltier devices. Both of these are very inefficient ways to make electricy.

[-] Zorg@lemmings.world 5 points 2 years ago

I'm the spirit of this comment, water is just cold steam.

[-] NegativeInf@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

How do you feel about water ice being a mineral?

[-] skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 years ago

there are also fuel cells

[-] Faresh@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago

I guess aeolic energy also doesn't use steam (unless we count the air humidity), but still involves turning a turbine.

[-] lens17@feddit.de 1 points 2 years ago

Excuse my blatant ignorance, but what is aeolic energy? I've never heard about it before.

[-] oxideseven@lemmy.ca 7 points 2 years ago

Garlic power.

Nah, just a non-traditional way of saying wind generators like turbines.

[-] TheTetrapod@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

Apparently it's the fancy word for wind power.

[-] skillissuer@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 years ago
[-] wewbull@feddit.uk 1 points 2 years ago

French words are the fancy words in English. French was the language of the upper classes for a long time.

[-] lens17@feddit.de 3 points 2 years ago

What a dissapointment.

[-] frezik@midwest.social 2 points 2 years ago

The peltier effect can be used to generate electricity from a thermal gradient. It's not very efficient, though. There's a reason mechanical means of electrical production predominate.

[-] Resonosity@lemmy.world 1 points 2 years ago

Aerokinetics/hydrokinetics as well. With steam, we're creating the source fluid that turns the turbines to make electricity. Those source fluids can also exist as wind/tides/rivers naturally.

this post was submitted on 09 Apr 2024
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