Finished my thesis!!!!!

[Iain]

And don't use the title on your licence or whatever, because when some poor bastard has a coronary at Melb airport and you are called.................
(Won't mention who this happened to ).
And those big bladed things on the hills near us, I always thought they were for cooling down the dairy cows in the summer
And don't worry about the parrots, they can't read.

[jmk89]

It is 14 hours since Cam has posted in any forum. Do you think he is still celebrating by trying to drink all the Cascade in Hobart?

[KevM]

Hi all,

I know five exclamation marks might be considered poor form but I have just finished the soft copy (i.e. not printed yet) version of my Ph.D. thesis. Thus, this is a happy post and has gratuitous use of smilies.



It feels good to have finished this 3.5 years worth of project and I am really proud of the result, even if Rsser (Ern) has recently had a gentle dig at me .


Cam

Cam,

Congratulations, looks like the celebrations last night might have taken their toll on you.

I wonder what time Cam will surface today, or do the celebrations continue.

regards

Kev M

[Studley 2436]

Congratulations Cam. It is a great relief I am sure to have it all finished and be able to take a breath before joining the work force.

*L* I think the Australian published that there might be a chance of killing one parrot/year with that wind farm. You have certainly done a good thesis. I read today that wind farms have about 20% efficiency as you can't dictate them to work hard at the particular time you need your electricity. I have always wondered the economics of wind farming just as now I wonder the price of nuclear power. It used to be they said that nuclear was going to get so cheap that they wouldn't be able to charge for it!!!!! Now they say it is competitive with coal. Are wind farms still at the developement stage?

Anyway enough heavy BS for a happily hung over Dr Cam. What about a thesis on the use of windfarms to produce parrot paté? That would be pretty good new Australian delicacy.

Studley

[CameronPotter]

I should hopefully know in about 3 months time...

As for partying hard etc. there wasn't really anyone around. Mind you, I also had a rather important presentation this morning which accounts for my lack of posts more than any headache... Shameful really. :eek:

There are a lot of fallacies about windfarms and the problem is that they are sprinkled with enough truth they are hard to disprove unless you really know where to look and what to look for...

Windfarms do operate at about 25-30% of their capacity on average - thus they can't be ramped up during peak time. But that isn't their purpose. Instead they basically save using the fuel (including water for hydro) from other power stations.

They certainly don't take much to build. Actually, they are fairly easy to install. Where the problem comes from is needing back-up reserves to account for drop offs in the windspeed. This back up is usually supplied by other power stations running below peak efficiency... This is a real problem - and it is the problem that my thesis addresses. If you know what to expect in the future, you don't need to be so conservative in your safety margins.

Gotta love nuclear energy, so much greener than seeing a wind turbine on a cliff... :mad: (I know you were being sacarastic though Echnidna).

It does appear that Australia is about to take a step in the wrong direction. Windpower is now actually getting close-ish to being competitive with coal in Europe (although starting a proper industry basis does take time and money). For any economists out there, you would be staggered by the externalities (i.e. additional costs to the community) associated with most power systems. If the externalities are considered, windpower is already the cheapest power source, but many people like to make simple evaluations on pure money numbers.

As for being a know-it-all bastard... I knew I did the Ph.D. for some reason...

[echnidna]

Now that we have a wind expert I can ask some questions.


I read somewhere that using the energy created by windpower can effect the relationship between the earth and the moon.


But this relationship creates the tides and winds.


Could the moon's orbit alter?


So is the sky gunna fall on us?:eek:


(signed chicken little)

[Wongo]

Congratulations Dr. Cam. Well done.

I know it is a bit late now but do you know my mate from the Sunshine Coast can get you a degree from the "University of you know where" for a very reasonable price. Obviously a PhD will cost a bit more.

Cheers

[jmk89]

Cam

Did you look at the use of vanadium redox battery storage in conjunction with wind power generation on King Island? I always thought that cheap storage of power generated in non-peak periods for use in peak (or when wind was not plentiful) sounded like a great way to deal with some of the issues of varuiable production with all renewables and variable consumption of power. But that's a very non-expert opinion.

Jeremy

[CameronPotter]

So is the sky gunna fall on us?:eek:
(signed chicken little)

Pretty much yes. It is something of a plot to take over the world...

Your Sincerely Dr Evil.


Actually, it really is a fair question. I don't know about it affecting the relationship between the earth and the moon - I seriously doubt that as that would take a LOT of energy. However, I haven't seen a good case study on how a windfarm affects the surrounds over a period of time. Theoretically there should be little effect, but the energy from the wind is no longer going where it used to go. However, I have heard a few things:

1. Wind turbines don't produce still air on the other side, so only a portion of the energy is used and the rest continues on.

2. The wind that is used would usually dissipate through various forces and it is likely that the amount taken by a windfarm is minor.

3. Possibly the greater concern is more localised and to do with creating eddies and swirls that weren't there before - but that is true for ANY structure. If we want to live in a modern society, we will change what is arround us - in fact, that is true for all societies (including hunter gatherers) but to different extents of course.

Cam

[CameronPotter]

Wongo, Al has already pointed me to another place where I can get my second degree cheap and fast...



Jeremy, the problem is that there is no such thing as cheap power storage. The batteries used to store power aren't that different from car batteries - which means lots of space and lots of expense. Think about what you would require for your house alone... There are certainly advocates of the storage method, but they also tend to be the same people who say we should use renewables regardless of expense - i.e. they often aren't very well grounded in reality. This is not to say that there aren't promising options, but right now, the extra expense of a storage facility would be enormous.

Cam

[Wongo]

Jeremy, the problem is that there is no such thing as cheap power storage. The batteries used to store power aren't that different from car batteries - which means lots of space and lots of expense. Think about what you would require for your house alone... There are certainly advocates of the storage method, but they also tend to be the same people who say we should use renewables regardless of expense - i.e. they often aren't very well grounded in reality. This is not to say that there aren't promising options, but right now, the extra expense of a storage facility would be enormous.

What a load of rubbish.

[CameronPotter]

Which bit? Surely not all of it Wongo?

[Carry Pine]

Congratulations, Cameron. The first wind turbine I see in orange on my next trip... I'll know who it's dedicated to.
Carry Pine

[CameronPotter]

Cheers mate, but is that a good thing? :confused:

[DanP]

Dr Cam, Medicine Woman.

Well Done Cam.

Dan