Meta-Sci: Engineering #01

Lightning Energy Converter

Patent Pending 13/049,901

Last Page Update July 31st, 2011

Photo used with permission of artist Brian Avocet

Description of an L.E.C. Device

This device is designed to convert the energy from a lightning strike into a more store-able, more usable, beneficial form for civilization.

I would refer to this type of device as a Lightning Energy Converter or LEC. This model uses as a basis the principles behind a device chemists use to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water, called an Electrolyzer.

Previous uses of the electrolyzer have been to create gases, using "What minimum electricity was necessary to separate the amount of gases needed, to be cost effective." Note, "Use Minimal Electricity for the Purpose." In the case of the LEC, the Electrolyzer is being used to create the gases based on "Use Whatever Electricity is Available to Convert to Gas Whatever is Possible." In this case the "Whatever Electricity is Available" is the energy from Lightning.

Modifications to the basic circuit have been made to better facilitate this purpose. Using the supposition that "After a lightning strike, ozone can be smelled in the air," I will suppose that the lightning /aerial electrode of the Electrolyzer will denote the oxygen side of the reaction, for the oxygen collection tube. This would mean that the ground electrode will denote the hydrogen electrode of the Electrolyzer. To control the reaction in the Electrolyzer a voltage regulator will be used. As it is known in the electrical field, that it takes 10,000 volts to jump or arc an air gap of one quarter inch (1/4"). To set the voltage for 35,000 volts for the Electrolyzer, I would then use an air gap of seven eighths of an inch. (7/8") Historically to roughly and crudely regulate the voltage at this high of a rate, two pointed electrodes would be gapped to the appointed distance. One such example of this technology usage form would be from Hollywood movies and the Frankenstein movies, where Dr. Frankenstein has the pointed electrodes and the gaps to jump arcs to regulate his lightning to specific voltages. Once the voltage is set for the Electrolyzer, the only other limits to the energy coming in are the current available, and the duration of the lightning strike or the pulse width.

To further improve the design and improve the performance curve of the Electrolyzer, an LC (impedance /capacitance) circuit is added. Typically in electronics, depending upon how it is wired into the circuit to which it is being applied, the LC circuit may be used to shorten or lengthen a pulse width. In this instance the electrodes on the Electrolyzer are connected in parallel to the LC circuit to extend the length of the lightning energy pulse width as applied to the electrodes. To do this the Electrolyzer has one electrode to the ground and one electrode to the lightning rod aerial. The LC circuit will also have one end connected to the ground and the other end connected to the lightning rod aerial. Analyzing this circuit we have the coil (L) and the capacitor (C) being charged in the initial phases of the lightning strike pulse width, while the reaction is beginning to take place in the Electrolyzer. What is occurring here is that the coil is limiting the current flow to the capacitor, at first, while it charges with a magnetic field, then it will allow the current to increase passing through it to charge the capacitor. Once the lightning strike pulse width has ended both the coil and capacitor discharge their respective fields back out to continue powering the electrodes of the Electrolyzer. Depending on the values of the coil and the capacitor, and any other parts within the circuit, will determine how much time and wattage are returned from the LC circuit to the Electrolyzer, but the addition of the LC elements to the circuit will put back some value after the lightning strike has stopped infusing energy.

There are several other added advantages to this device by using the LC circuit, when special design considerations are added to the design of the components in the LC circuit. First, I can combine the voltage regulation air gap feature with the capacitor. Instead of using pointed electrodes as Dr. Frankenstein does, I use regulated air gapped plates. Starting at this feature, I find that using the plate method with a consistent gap distributes the charge across the facing surfaces instead of focusing the charge at one physical point of the electrodes on the voltage regulator. The advantage to this is a distributed arc between the two air gapped surfaces so that the electrodes to not deteriorate as much with usage as those with pointed electrodes on the voltage regulator would. Distributed arc means distributed heat. Depending on the exactness of the two surfaces and the exactness of the air gap, an identical current flow but lower current per square surface area would occur, resulting in a longer lasting surface. Type of metal would also have a bearing on this point but mainly here we are discussing the shape of the voltage regulation electrodes. Now since I have decided on plates to use as my air gap I will now combine the two circuit elements into one component, the voltage regulator and the capacitor of the LC circuit become two plates, separated by an air gap, with the regulation of the voltage set by the distance of the air gap and the regulation of the capacitance set by the distance of the air gap and the surface area size of the parallel surfaces of the electrodes. Once again, at this stage of research we are not concerned with a specific size of measurements, only with the fact that with these circuit elements and components arranged in a circuit as described, that the circuit will perform as described and the device as a whole will function as designed and described.

The next benefit to discuss from this circuit arrangement is the effects on the voltage regulation due to the voltage regulator being part of the LC circuit. By placing the LC circuit in parallel with the electrodes of the Electrolyzer, with the voltage regulator also serving as the capacitor what occurs is this: Both halves of the total device receive equal voltage from the lightning strike at the same time. While the electrolyzing (gas separation) process is building up to speed in the Electrolyzer, the coil is first charging and has it's greatest resistance to current flow in it's half of the circuit. What that does is to allow the voltage across the Electrolyzer to build up to a point which is slightly greater than the voltage regulated by the voltage regulator in series with the coil. The benefit to this is that the Electrolyzer is allowed to operate at a higher voltage and thus faster rate than it would with the coil fully charged and the voltage regulator fully engaged in the circuit. This is desired because we want as much of the reaction in the Electrolyzer to take place as possible from the lightning strike. As long as we don't over load the Electrolyzer (which I might add can be considered "water cooled") this is good because we are getting more reaction into the time allotted. As the coil charges the voltage regulator comes up to voltage and the reaction rate becomes limited, slightly slower and more regulated, due to the arcing of the air gap. This is where the actual, final adjusted voltage would be set for in a production or any specific unit, based on the water distance between the electrodes in the Electrolyzer, for the desired rate of reaction to take place. The initial 35,000 volts cited here is a prototype setting and not to be considered a definite, final setting for any and all units.

One thing to note here. In the middle of the reaction, now that the lightning strike is fully up to impact and all elements of the circuit are fully charged and operating at peak speed is that the electrical ability of the circuit to continue to be flexible at this fully operating rate is important. This flexibility is there to prevent the lightning from jumping to other objects due to a drop in the ability of the circuit to handle additional charge, rate or total volume (watt/hours). The jumping of secondary "Lightning Leaders" can be dangerous to surrounding property and is counter productive to the basis of the core device, the lightning rod. By using the coil and capacitor of the LC circuit, we are continuing to hold a ground potential at the aerial lead of this system.

Now moving on to the end of the lightning strike and the various reactions taking place throughout the circuit. As the voltage applied by the lightning strike drops off, the reaction in the Electrolyzer would begin to slow and the arcing rate of the over voltage across the voltage regulator / capacitor is dropping. At a voltage of 35,000 volts the arcing is still taking place and the voltage differential across the gap to the two plates is still 35,000 volts. When the voltage drops to 34,999 the arcing across the air gap would stop, but the two plates of the voltage regulator / capacitor would still be charged at 34,999 volts, DC, with the polarity the same as the charging voltage. At this point the capacitor would begin to discharge back into the circuit. This would maintain a voltage on the Electrolyzer even if the lightning strike is complete gone. When coupled in reaction with the coil, as the magnetic field begins to collapse due to the lack of input voltage, the coil would then output voltage back into the circuit with the same polarity as the input voltage. So as the energy input from the lightning strike drops off, the energy input to the Electrolyzer would continue due to the LC circuit in this design, giving maximum output for the given energy input, in "energy/time." (I.E. Watts per Hour)

Once the lightning strike has ended and the LC circuit is completely discharged, the reaction energy/time available will have expired and the reaction of the Electrolyzer should be at the end, for this lightning strike. What we have at this point is H2 collected in one side of the Electrolyzer and O2 collected in the other side of the Electrolyzer. At this point we can use these gases as we see fit. We can run a fuel cell directly from these gases, and recycle the pure water output back into the Electrolyzer to prepare it for the next lightning strike. This would result in a closed system with pure water recycling. If there is another purpose for the Oxygen, such as release into the upper atmosphere as a natural Ozone generator, that would also be productive to civilization.

Illustrations:

1. Lightning Rod System