cronedog t1_j8fcnrt wrote
Reply to comment by mhornberger in 7 international companies have teamed with the EU to form the International Hyperloop Association, the industry's first trade body. by lughnasadh
It's not impossible, just a crap idea. It's like the countless idiots that want to use dehumidifiers to generate water from air for drinking purposes. It's not impossible, just a terrible idea that's way less efficient than all currently used ideas.
Positer t1_j8so3mi wrote
>countless idiots that want to use dehumidifiers to generate water from air for drinking purposes
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You mean like the idiot professor who is one of the most highly cited professors in the world, and has won the 2020 royal society Chemistry award for exactly that invention?
https://chemistry.berkeley.edu/news/omar-yaghi-receives-2020-royal-society-chemistry-award
Get off youtube and watching thundermoron. It's not a serious source of science.
mhornberger t1_j8fgn8a wrote
> just a terrible idea that's way less efficient than all currently used ideas.
There are multiple metrics of efficiency. It certainly doesn't compete with mains water. But not all areas have available or reliable mains water. And for water being trucked in, some areas are reliant on corrupt 'water mafias.' Multiple militaries have bought products from various companies in this space. Sure, we can just go with the idea that all of these people, even DARPA, are just really stupid. Or maybe it does suit some use cases. For civilian use, it is priced to compete with bottled water, not with mains water.
https://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2021/04/water-from-fresh-air/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-watergen-helping-arizona-native-americans-make-water-from-air/
>>Watergen has deployed its machines in over 60 countries, both developing countries lacking water infrastructure, such as India and Uzbekistan, and in areas of developed countries suffering from drought, such as California.
cronedog t1_j8fjnsb wrote
> Sure, we can just go with the idea that all of these people, even DARPA, are just really stupid.
You think no funded research initiatives are stupid? Look at how many hundreds of millions were wasted on solar roadways. Pure science research has some benefit in itself, that doesn't mean the projects will be viable.
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There are reasons these projects keep failing. Just believe hard enough and the self filling water bottle will be a good idea....:S
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The first link doesn't paint all that rosy a picture of the idea. 1 liter of fuel for 5 liters of water.
Darpa and Berkely are just research projects. The article ends with the dude wondering if research will ever make them worthwhile.
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and for the second link
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The Watergen GEN-M generators produce up to 211 gallons (800 liters) of purified drinking water per day, depending on climate conditions. The Israeli startup will monitor the project’s effectiveness in the Hard Rock Community and evaluate whether it can be replicated elsewhere within the Navajo Nation.
What are the results? How effective is it to track in big machines and hundreds of gallons of fuel? Why can they ship hundreds of gallons of fuel to waste but can't just bring water from surrounding areas?
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Corrupt water mafias can take control of water convoys but not giant stationary generators or the massive amount of fuel required to run the generators?
mhornberger t1_j8fkfk4 wrote
> Look at how many hundreds of millions were wasted on solar roadways.
Hundreds of millions? Where are you getting that number from? Even $100 million seems like it would be off by a factor of 10-20x.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Roadways
And these articles aren't about R&D projects, but about products already on the market. DARPA is also doing R&D, but that's just to push the industry forward, enable more improvement. These aren't "projects that keep failing," rather they're products that keep getting purchased and installed.
>Why can they ship hundreds of gallons of fuel to waste but can't just bring water from surrounding areas?
Or their electrical grid might be more robust than the water mains system. Or they may be using solar. Any number of reasons. That you personally think there are better options doesn't mean those buying them share your assessment. Is it really so impossible that some of these people are doing their due diligence before making the purchase decision?
cronedog t1_j8fo8dp wrote
>Hundreds of millions? Where are you getting that number from? Even $100 million seems like it would be off by a factor of 10-20x.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Roadways
Sorry. I wasn't clear. I didn't just mean solar roadways inc, the US company. I was referring to all the projects around the world where they try to stick solar panels on roadways.
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>Or their electrical grid might be more robust than the water mains system. Or they may be using solar. Any number of reasons. That you personally think there are better options doesn't mean those buying them share your assessment. Is it really so impossible that some of these people are doing their due diligence before making the purchase decision?
Yes. If the people in charge had an understanding of physics they wouldn't waste their money. I don't know why people keep falling for theranos levels of con-artistry but they do.
Weltkaiser t1_j8hb43b wrote
As you refuse to use your own brain:
The more arid a region is, the less available free water there is in the air. If you let a dehumidifier run in the desert it will harvest pretty much nothing. Which makes this concept even less viable for the scenarios you are suggesting. And yes, also DARPA has high numbers of morons that buy into every snake oil working for them.
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