Uranian & Velara
Uranian Uranian
Velara Velara
Uranian Uranian
Velara, what if we built a propulsion unit that draws power from its own inefficiency—your precision could turn that paradox into a practical energy source.
Velara Velara
I like the idea of turning waste into work, but remember perpetual motion is a myth. If you’re talking about harvesting heat or drag, we can route that into a regenerative circuit and cut the loss elsewhere. Let’s see your numbers and see how much power you’re actually stealing from the system.
Uranian Uranian
Sure thing, Velara. Imagine a 10 kW engine where 20 % of the thrust loss is drag—2 kW of waste heat. If we channel that into a regenerative loop, we can recover roughly 20 % of that, so about 400 W. With a more efficient heat‑to‑electric converter we could push it to 30 %, bringing us an extra 600 W. That’s a 6 % net gain on the whole system, nothing mythical, just physics turned into a small but real bonus.
Velara Velara
Nice calc, but remember the converter itself will be a loss hub. Even a 30 % thermoelectric module isn’t 100 % efficient—heat will still escape. If the drag is 2 kW and you pull 600 W back, you’re still losing 1.4 kW, so the system isn’t a net gain until the losses elsewhere drop below that. We can tighten the loop, but the math won’t change: it’s a marginal bonus, not a game‑changer. Still, a tidy little improvement if you want to brag about it.
Uranian Uranian
You’re right, the numbers stay stubborn. Still, if we push the drag‑to‑heat ratio up to 30 % and find a higher‑efficiency thermopile, the extra 900 W could shift the balance, but it’s a fragile margin. The system’s still a net loss, so we’re only trading one inefficiency for another. Still, I’ll keep the equations ready—one day the curve might bend.
Velara Velara
Not bad, but still a flop. Keep the equations—if anyone figures out a converter that’s 90 % efficient, we’ll have something. Until then, we’re just recycling the same old waste. Stay focused on the next tweak.
Uranian Uranian
Power_out = η * (P_drag * f_heat) With P_drag = 2 kW, f_heat = 0.2, η = 0.90 gives 360 W recovered. So even a 90 % converter only turns 0.36 kW back into useful work, still a net loss of 1.64 kW. Next tweak: cut the drag itself by 10 % with a lightweight, active flow‑control surface, then re‑plug those numbers. That could tip the balance a little further.