UNDERSTANDING WATER POWER
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Historical
In 1989 (Vol. 2, No. 1) Raum & Zeit published an article by Ludwig Herbrand, dealing with a development in Water Power, termed in that article the "Herbrand Turbine". While it seems that Herbrand is not the inventor of this technology, the present author nevertheless believes that there is something about water power that present scientific thinking and engineering are not aware of. He believes that the work of the Austrian genius Viktor Schauberger holds the key to understanding Herbrand's story.
The sequence of "historical" events that led to Herbrand's discovery is as follows: Herbrand, in the early thirties, was a student of electrical engineering at the Aachen Technical College. The theme that was given him for his graduation thesis was the "Recalculation of the generators in the Rheinfelden power plant." Part of the thesis was also to make a comparison with an article that had appeared in the ETZ technical magazine of 1932, page 233. The power plant of Rheinfelden is a plant that directly utilizes the flow of the Rhein river's water, feeding it through turbines without the use of a dam. The power plant described in the ETZ magazine's article instead was a plant constructed in 1926 at Ryburg-Schwoerstadt, about 12 miles up river from Rheinfelden. The description was as follows:
"The dam and the power plant's generator building span the width of the river and dam up the water to about 12 meters above the low water side. The driving power is provided by four turbines with an exceptional (for that time) capacity of 250 m3/sec. The power of each generator is 35.000 KVA. The Rheinfelden power plant was an older construction, built in the last decade of the nineteenth century. It had twenty turbines. As the total water flow of the Rhein river at that point is about 1000 m3/sec, each turbine received approximately 50 m3/sec of water. The power of each one of the generators, calculated according to established principles, was 500 to 600 KW, the plant reaching a total power of 10 to 12 MW. However, in this same power plant, some generators had recently been installed that were designed for a much higher power output than the older turbines. They were designed by Prof. Finzi of the Aachen Technical College and constructed by J.M. Voith of Heidenheim/Brenz." A description of these generators was as follows:
"They are built to yield 32.500 KVA and can be run with a 10 % overload indefinitely, thus actually producing 35.000 KVA. The tension is 10.000 Volts at 50 Hertz and 75 rpm, with a factor of cos phi of 0.7. Because of the continuous overload factor, all stresses are kept to a minimum." Herbrand recalculated the wiring of one of these generators and was much astonished when making his comparison to find that these new Rheinfelden generators without a dam and with only one fifth of the capacity (50 m3/sec) produced as much electric power as the huge generators at Ryburg with their capacity of 250 m3/sec and a head water dammed up 12 meters high. He turned to his professor in dismay and Finzi's answer, as related to us by Herbrand, was:
"Do not worry. It is correct. The generator has been working without problems for some time now. Make the calculations backwards and you will see for yourself. We are electrical engineers. Why, those other problems are not ours to solve, we leave them to the water boys. We have repeated our measurements and the generator's yield of power is exactly as specified. The only thing is - no one knows about this."
Soon came the war and
circumstances did not permit Herbrand to obtain an
electrical engineering job. Only many years later did he
remember his graduation thesis and he has tried since then
to offer his calculations to government and industry -
without success. He also tried to obtain a patent but was
refused as his proposal violated the law of conservation of
energy, so he was told. These are the "historical" facts of
the matter. Without wanting to take away from Herbrand's
achievement, it would seem more correct to name the turbine
a "Finzi-Herbrand-Turbine", because the actual designer was
Professor Finzi, not Herbrand. In any case, Herbrand's great
merit is to have come out publicly trying to get the idea
used more broadly.
Calculations of yield
The kinetic energy of a water turbine is calculated with the following formula:
E kin = m/2 . v2 (KW)
"m" is the usable amount of water measured in m3/sec and v is the velocity of the water, expressed in m/sec...Generally, "V" is calculated by the use of the following formula:
v = sqrt 2 . g . h
-whereby g is gravity with 9.81 m/sec2 and h is the difference in level between the head water and the water on the lower side expressed in meters.
But here the matter becomes critical and we should clearly understand that the latter formula is only a secondary formula to find a v-equivalent in the special case of gravitational water pressure resulting from a difference in water levels. For the calculation of v in flowing water this formula is neither usable nor necessary. The velocity of flowing water can be quantified by direct measurement. The important concept here is that water can gain its velocity in two distinctly different ways. Water can be held up by a dam and at the point where we release it through a nozzle or say through a turbine, it will experience a strong acceleration. The resulting velocity can be calculated by use of the above formula. If we take for instance a difference in water levels of 12 meters, we get a velocity of the water of:
sqrt 2 x 9.81 x 12 = 15.34 m/sec
Should the capacity of flow be 250 m3/sec then we get a kinetic energy of:
250/2 x 15.34 x 15.34 = 29,414 KW
- approximating the above description of the generators of the Ryburg-Schwoerstadt power plant.
The second way in which water may reach a certain velocity is the normal flowing of a river and in particular the natural vortex movement of water. In our example of the Rheinfelden power plant, the velocity of water flow through the turbine was 35 m/sec, much higher than in Ryburg-Schwoerstadt. This higher velocity of flow was reached in two stages. A small island located in midstream provided the means for the first increase in velocity, as the water was forced to flow on one side only of the island. The water, finding itself in a much more narrow bed, increased its velocity of flow. A further increase was achieved by a funnel-like construction of the inlet towards the turbine, restricting the diameter of the water's flow even further and increasing the velocity so as to pass the turbine at a considerable 35 m/sec (approximately 80 mph). So the kinetic energy, in accordance with our first formula as given above, was
50/2 x 35 x 35 = 30,625 KW
We see that with a fifth of the amount of water per second, but with a considerably increased velocity of flow, the same kinetic energy can be obtained as with 250 m3/sec and a water level difference of 12 meters. If we wished to obtain an equivalent of v = 35 m/sec through gravitationally induced water pressure, we would need a dam 62.4 meters (nearly 200 ft!) high. How is it possible that by simply restricting the space in which water may flow, we can free such tremendous energies? Herbrand has calculated the effect of contraction by introducing a factor n. He found that an increase of the factor n, that is, a greater contraction, will increase the energy of the water but he has come to recognize that this concept is impossible to grasp for our scientific "experts".
Viktor Schauberger: "We are using the wrong kind of motion!"
The Austrian forest warden and inventor Viktor Schauberger has researched and successfully applied the laws of motion of water. He said that we are using the wrong kind of motion, referring to all of our technological "achievements", from the internal combustion engine to our way of putting streams of water into an unnatural straitjacket. In order to understand the discovery of Herbrand, it is important to know that the natural motion of water is a centripetal vortical movement, turning or "rolling" inward around the axis of motion of the water's flow. This kind of motion tends to accelerate and contract the stream of water, accumulating kinetic energy in the form of an increased velocity.
A simple example for this is the vortex that forms when a bathtub is emptied of water. We can also observe the same kind of motion on a simple tap of water. In fact, if the water leaves the tap without disturbances such as bubbles of air or other disturbing flows, we see that the water takes a spiral course, accelerating and contracting on its way. Anyone who has doubts as to the fact that the natural spiral movement can increase the kinetic energy of water, need only remember the extraordinary energies contained in tornadoes and hurricane winds. These energies are accumulated by just the same spiral movement. In the early years of his career as a forest warden, Schauberger has utilized this effect to allow the transport of heavy beech wood logs in wooden water sluices, very much to the amazement of his seniors and visiting scientists. Science at that time, just as today, could not explain how it was possible to transport beech logs in a flow of water, as the wood of the beech tree has a specific weight higher than that of water. Considering this, it is no wonder that also Herbrand's observations were to meet disbelief and even outright hostility from our scientifically educated "experts".
Thermodynamics and the Law of Conservation of Energy
This discussion about Rheinfelden and Herbrand's turbine lets us fly square into the teeth of recognized authority. We are seemingly violating the hallowed principle of the conservation of energy. I say seemingly, because all things considered, conservation of energy is assured. Just that a stream of water is not a "closed system" as our scientists would like to believe. In fact, there are no real closed systems in this world and thus thermodynamics, at least its second law, as well as the law of conservation of energy, are not correct as currently stated. The author has dealt with the basic assumptions of physics and the law of conservation of energy in a previous article.
Gravity and Inertia
In closing I would like to point out that gravity and inertia, although they do show analogous effects, are not identical. Even though we cannot subjectively distinguish the earth's gravity from an acceleration of 1 g (9.81 m/sec2), say in a spacecraft, when we talk about water we must distinguish well between gravitation and inertia. A mass of water held up by a dam is a mass which under the influence of gravity exerts a certain pressure and thus is able to drive a turbine. The energy utilized in this case is mostly the gravitationally induced pressure, not the inertial force that comes from motion. A moving mass of water has an inertial mass which by force of inertia is able to drive a turbine. In this case, the force we are predominantly using is a direct result of the velocity of motion. The difference here lies in the natural or unnatural motion of the water.
According to current scientific knowledge we hold up the water by a dam, thus stopping its natural flow and losing the inherent inertial forces, in order to use the gravitational pressure of this now motionless mass of water to drive turbines. It would be much more effective to use the natural motion of water and, if possible, to accelerate that motion, in order to gain more energy out of a fast flowing mass of water than we could ever get out of a dammed-up motionless mass, because
E kin = m/2 . v2
In other words, the kinetic energy increases with the square of the velocity!
Schauberger has explained the principles of motion to us, Prof. Finzi has built the turbine and Herbrand has recognized the paradox and has tried to bring it into the public domain. How long will it take us to finally understand that in our technological solutions we must work with nature and not against it?
Schauberger had a word for this (freely translated): "Observe, understand and then copy nature."
Note: This page was originally created by, and is used, in part, with exclusive permission from Josef Hasslberger. It has been edited for content. You may visit the original webpage at http://www.hasslberger.com, where you will find even more documentation on the vortex theories proposed by Viktor Schauberger. It is a very well laid out site.
THE VORTEX
The
centrifugal effect in a vortex throws heavy liquid/air out
to the perimeter whilst lighter air/ liquid is pushed to the
center. Electrically, the air polarized with negative ions
or as electrons will be pushed to the center and down, the
air with positive ion content will move upward and outward.
With mass weights for an electron at 9.109x10-31
kg. and a positive ion of air at around
2.656x10-26 kg it can be seen that the negative
electron can be only one thirty-thousandth of the positive
ion, and of course much more agile.
Latent Powers at Molecular Level
Professor J.H.Jeans1 writing about electrons, particularly of the innate strength of their negative charge wrote: "According to the best recent determinations, the amount of this charge is 4.774 x 10 10 electrostatic units, while the mass of each electron is 9.00 x 10 28 grammes. These determinations, which are due to Millikan and Bucherer, are probably accurate to about one part in a thousand. To a lower degree of accuracy the radius of the electron is probably about 2 x 10 13 cms. We can form some conception of the intense concentration of mass and electrification in the electron by noticing that a gramme of electrons, crammed together in cubical piling, would occupy only 7 x 10 11 cubic centimeters, while two such grammes of electrons placed at a distance of a meter apart would repel one another with a force equal to the weight of 3 x 10 22 tons. The electric force of repulsion outweighs the gravitational force of attraction in the ratio of 4.2 x 10 42 to one."
Similar to how Viktor Schauberger's aerodynes utilized levitation thrust the ufo-type expulsion energy is a created reaction to the comprehensive densation of the air that is continually being sucked in through the vortex and therefore making the air below the craft more dense than the air above the craft. In other words the vortex is to create a higher-pressure area below the craft and a lower-pressure area above the craft.
But in this case, in the center of the
accumulator reactor there are various constrictive devices
in operation that are preventing the highly turbulent
implosion cycloid, or vortex, from outflowing. Expulsion,
then, cannot occur unless by force.
Once it does expulse, when it reaches a certain threshold and the repulsion force takes over, the release would be sudden and very powerful - the highly compressed energy will immediately expand, once it has passed through the hole, or the circumferential duct, into the surrounding atmospheric air to regain its normalized state.
The usual hue of the energy around an electro-aerodyne is blue, which of course is the atoms / electrons accelerating and decelerating and then normalizing. The 8Hz (or 8 times per second) frequency that sometimes accompanies the whirling sound some observers have heard around these electro-aerodynes when just hovering may be one of the low-speed strobing cycles for that mode of energy output, the main pulses of which would be radiated at a much higher frequency (a strobed energy cycle occurs when two or more higher frequency pulses are propagated in close proximity.
A
vortex has centripetal (as well as centrifugal) force that
can compress its fluid to such a degree as to result in a
350,000-fold increase in pressure or a powerful implosive
suction force.2
A vortex can be considered as a wave of ever-diminishing amplitude. And as a type of black hole, where energy is drawn in and by extreme compression is polarized electrically, so that particles sucked in split into electron/positron pairs, and where, as according to Stephen Hawkings' Theoretical Physics 3 there is an emission - even from black holes in space - of both positive and neutral charges. Correspondingly, there is at the mouth of a vortex a relative centrifugal force which is positively charged with respect to its central (negative) throat.
Viktor Schauberger, the Austrian physicist, and Patrick Flanagan ("Secrets of the Soil" p99-115), have both found that water when revolved at high revolutions creates a substantial potential-difference in electrical energies in its structure.
According
to the research of T.J.J. See in his Wave Theory:
Discovery of the Cause of Gravitation (1938-52) the
molecular structure of air or water (or indeed any fluid)
changes quite dramatically at a critical point of
inter-atomic-spacing where the normal forces of attraction
transpose to an opposing force of repulsion...
Between
the atoms and molecules that make up liquids and air a
balance is maintained where electrons orbit a nucleus of an
atom in precisely defined shells.
Electron shells of one atom cannot mesh with those of other atoms - if they could the whole world would collapse into a very tiny ball !
Obviously there has to exist an all-powerful mechanism that can dramatically, if needs be, get the atomic and molecular structures out of a tight corner.
So when the inter-atomic spacing between orbit shells is too tightly compressed a repulsion occurs to force things back toward normality. As the chart shows, when atoms get to a certain closeness, between d1 and d0 they undergo an attraction to each other - but further compression beyond d0 is met proportionally with repulsion.
If there were a situation where the atomic structures were forced momentarily through a constriction that resulted in an ultra-high compression d1- then the repulsive forces would be very powerful indeed.
Viktor Schauberger was one researcher that utilized this phenomenon with his Implosion motive power - he found the way, a very simple way, to compress the atomic structure of a flowing fluid - to this ultra-high compression level, and facilitate its resultant expansion, its released REPULSION energy, so as to create a low-density area above the craft which it would simply rise up into.
1 "The Mathematical Theory of Electricity and Magnetism" J.H. Jeans (1920) p20
2 For an interesting account of the pressure-changing forces of the vortex see "The Energy Evolution" (Viktor Schauberger) edited by Callum Coats (2000).
3 While this is theorized by Stephen Hawking in "A Brief History of Time", Stephen also postulates a theory that gravity is linked to electrostatics, although I would think, surely, that it is more likely that gravity is a vortical reactive energy, especially as the planets are themselves held in space by vortical motions.
Strangely enough mainstream science has more than anything ignored the vortex, Hermann von Helmholtz back in 1858 wrote a mathematical paper on it called "On The Integrals of Hydrodynamic Equations to Which Vortex Motions Conform". Viktor Schauberger made extensive discoveries to do with vortex energy and engineered several over-unity generators (1945). T.J.J.See wrote of stellar vortical movements in his "Wave Theory: Discovery of the Cause of Gravitation" (1938-52). T. Townsend Brown tackled the complex mathematics to do with the vortical motion of ionized air due to electro hydrodynamic forces around his 'Tri-arcuate Ballistic Electrode' craft (1960). And more recently researchers have discovered that insects (and birds) actually fly by creating vortical motions between their wings and the surrounding air. See the articles in "Nature" (19/26 Dec 1996) Vol 384 p626-630: and "New Scientist" (11 Oct 1997) p24-27.
Site Index
AirZooka and MegaZooka
Vortex-Generating Air Cannons
Although the Airzooka is only advertised
as projecting a blast of air 20 feet, I found mine can easily send a
powerful enough blast to punch drapes 40-feet away. At 20 feet the
impact of the air blast against a wall is loud enough to hear. At
15-feet it's loud enough to make a pronounced and satisfying "wump"
when it hits. I've blown over a house of cards at 50-feet under ideal
conditions. Loaded with fog from dry ice or a fog machine this gun also
shoots perfectly-shaped smoke rings if the diaphragm is only pulled
back 2-inches and released. Pulling it back any further creates so much
turbulence as a result of the speed and power of the blast that the
smoke ring's shape is blown away.
The MegaZooka features the new and
improved air launch material which adds more sound and pop as the air
ball leaves the MegaZooka. It also features a pop-up site, double
handle grips for improved aiming and single shot trigger action or
rapid fire. Try your luck at indoor target practice, or take aim at
your friends with surprising accuracy! Harmless fun for all ages!
The Megazooka actually demonstrates a
scientific principle. Although it may not be obvious, air occupies
space. When the plastic membrane of the Megazooka is released, the
volume decreases and pressure increases. The increase in pressure
forces some of the air out of the hole in the front of the gun. The
velocity at which the air leaves the Megazooka is inversely
proportional to the diameter of the hole; the smaller the hole the
greater the velocity of the air. This is similar to the phenomenon when
you pinch a garden hose to increase the velocity of the water coming
out the end.
The Megazooka is really a very
cool-looking vortex generator. The ball of air that shoots out is
actually a flat vortex of air, similar to smoke rings blown by a
talented cigarette smoker. You can use the MegaZooka indoors or out;
it's a good way to keep people alert at all times! It comes in an
awesome array of assorted colors: black, bright blue, neon yellow,
magenta, and orange. The color will be our choice. $24.95 from Amazon.
A little Schauberger science:
What keeps the
smoke ring moving and why does it eventually stop? The energy that is used to
move it forward and keeps the vortex rotating is taken from the inertia of the
rotating air in the vortex. Inertial is the tendency of anything in motion to
keep moving. (Ignoring this principle is why there are multi-car pile-ups when
people tailgate. The cars keep going in spite of the fact the brakes are slammed
on.) Even though we can't see it, feel it, or taste it, air has weight and
therefore once it's in motion it has inertial that'll tend to keep it in motion.
The spinning of the air in the torus is where the energy that keeps the torus
moving is stored. Eventually, air friction eats away all the energy stored in
the vortex and the smoke ring drifts to a stop.
The
Airzooka packs an aerodynamic
punch that puts even the original Wham-O Air Blaster to shame. Airzooka
is a "fun gun" that blasts a harmless ball of air up to 20 feet, while
unsuspecting victims wonder why their hair is messed up or their papers
scatter! Learn all about the science of force and motion while you play
tricks on your family and friends. Airzooka comes with a pop-up sight
so you can practice your aim. They'll never know what gust of wind hit
them! Great "Ghost Blaster" for Halloween. It's simple to operate! Just
flip up the site to take aim. Hold your Airzooka firmly with one hand
and pull straight back on the elastic launcher with the other. Release
the launcher and a powerful (yet harmless) ball of air is forced out of
the chamber. Put the Airzooka behind your back, whistle a tune and
above all, look innocent.
The Airzooka works by using elastic bands to pull a clear plastic
membrane forward after you use off your hand to pull it back. The
combined effect of the speed of the diaphragm being greater than the
Mighty Blaster and the fact that it goes from a concave to a convex
shape as opposed to the Mighty-Blaster's flat diaphragm seems to be the
reason the Airzooka produces a more powerful blast. How much more
powerful? The Airzooka can do at 40 feet as much or perhaps even more
than the Mighty Blaster can do at 8 feet. The Airzooka snaps together
fairly easily and only cost $14.95 At Amazon.com
From
the makers of the original AirZooka comes the all new
The
really interesting thing about smoke rings is that they don't push their way
through the air as you might expect. Take a second look at the rotational arrow
at the top of the drawing. That's the direction the air in the vortex is moving:
backwards on the outer surface of the ring. As this flow rubs against the still
air that surrounds the torus, friction causes the torus to tractor itself
forward. Imagine a chain saw with its blade pushed against the ground, it would
tend to pull itself forward. Same idea.
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