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From: ivy@ihuxt.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Tethered Generators
Message-ID: <671@ihuxt.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 7-Aug-84 16:25:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxt.671
Posted: Tue Aug  7 16:25:40 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 8-Aug-84 08:31:49 EDT
Sender: ivy@ihuxt.UUCP
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 15

Loss of orbital energy (altitude) to stratospheric friction
is a real problem.
Using an orbiting tether as a generator winding,
sweeping through a planet's magnetic field,
and using that to replace the orbital energy lost to friction
is an excellent idea.
Now, having solved the problem of energy lost to friction,
how shall we replace the orbital energy lost (converted) to electricity?

How about a bicycle with a generator on the front wheel,
and an electric motor on the back?
Wiring them into each other won't make up for wind resistance...
without adding a step-up transformer in between!  ;-)

D Iverson