[Energia] Un altro modo di sfruttare l'energia delle correnti oceaniche (e non solo)

[Mixmar]

Una proposta fatta da collaboratori della NASA: link.

[Rand]

E' uno spin-off da ricerche del JPL, un "ramo" della NASA che ha costruito e operato molte delle sue sonde (Voyager, Galileo, Cassini, i MER, i Mariner, ecc.):

The JPL/Caltech hydrokinetic energy system is a spin-off from a research project to find a new way to power robotic underwater vehicles. Most robotic underwater vehicles run on batteries and have to be recovered by ship to have their batteries recharged or replaced.

In this project, initiated by Pat Beauchamp of JPL's Center for In Situ Exploration and Sample Return, Jones was asked to develop a way to use temperature differences in the ocean to power submersibles. He had previously developed thermally controlled balloons for Venus, Mars and Titan. Jones was teamed up with Chao, who uses underwater gliders in his oceanographic research. "I saw we could extend the lives of these vehicles significantly by harvesting energy from the ocean environment," Chao says.