--- Charles M. Brown wrote: > Paul Lowrance calculated that ambient IR blackbody radiation was ~ 400 watts/ M^2.
Even if this figure were to be correct, and I think it is high - ... the problem is not the absolute level of blackbody irradiation, per se, BUT instead it is finding the proper "sink" in close proximity to that radiation. ... otherwise, (to restate the obvious) ambient heat at: (x)watts/ M^2 ... in close proximity to a heat-sink or differential at the same: (x)watts/ M^2 provides nothing- no mater what the level of (x) is: whether it be 400 or 400,000 - Basically this situation brings us back to an old niche field in alternative-energy: OTEC - where the trick is in finding the best 'sink' (which is deep ocean) ERGO - why not build on solutions which OTEC has already addressed ? They apparently did not find thermoelectric cells which could do better than phase-change expansion through a turbine (ammonia?). If any kind of solid-state cells, IR or thermoelectric or whatever- are actually available now, OTEC would seem to be the best place for trying them out. Jones
