Jet Stream as an Energy Source - 5/26/07

The jet stream blows day and night 365 days a year just a few miles above our head.  If the source of energy could be taped it would provide the worlds energy needs.  Researchers believe a wind powered generators lifted up by huge kite devices could tap into this never ending resource.

This bizarre idea does justify further investigation.  The jet stream blows from west to east around 8 miles over the Northern Hemisphere at speeds up to 300 mph. 

Researchers believe they can capture this energy by lifting generators into the jet stream and sending the electricity back to Earth along aluminum or copper cables or through invisible microwave beams. 

These high altitude devices will be too high to be heard and will be barely visible.  According to scientist Ken Caldeira at the Carnegie Institutions Department of Global Ecology at Stanford if we could tap into one percent of the energy of the jet stream it would be enough to power all of civilization. 

Research that began in the 1980s by Bryan Roberts of the University of Technology in Sydney has resulted in a small two rotor device tethered a short distance above ground successfully generating electricity from low level winds.

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