h a l f b a k e r yWhat's a nice idea like yours doing in a place like this?
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Everyone is familiar with those watermill-like devices which harness sweet sweet energy from the motion of advancing glaciers. But how to harness a glacier that is receding? I propose that rather than the ground, the glacier mill be anchored firmly in the front of the glacier, with the toothed mill
turning against the newly exposed rock behind it. The beauty of this is that should there be a change in the weather, the mill will also work in reverse, again generating the sweetest of energy as the glacier advances, this time pushing it before. Over time the teeth of the mill might wear cogholes in the stone, which will increase grip and thus efficiency.
A similar but lighter device might also be used to harness advancing and receding tidal fronts, but with the teeth gaining purchase on a railroad track-like structure build on the short and extending out to the low tide mark.
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This is an excellent idea apart from what I suspect is a
fundamental flaw. |
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Surely, when glaciers recede, they don't do so by climbing
back up the mountain? They do so by melting back from the
front, no? So this plan will not work. |
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By the same logic, an even lighter, personal use device could be used to harness the power of receding hairlines. |
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Ten to one that'll get posted. |
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beautiful. since glaciers only move downhill, you'd need some gearing going to another toothed gear on top of the glacier to get it to go uphill. |
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