Resumen de Reap the whirlwind
The Solar Vortex system is the brainchild of Mark Simpson and Ari Glezer at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. It relies on the temperature difference between hot air close to the ground and cooler air just a meter or so above it. Solar Vortex channels convection currents with an array of fixed blades or vanes. They funnel the airflow into a vortex, which turns a turbine at the device's center. No power is needed to kick the process off as the position of the vanes helps the vortex to start spontaneously. As the warm air rises, more air rushes in, fueling the artificial whirlwind. The team estimates that the electricity produced by a Solar Vortex will be 20% cheaper than energy from wind turbines and 65% cheaper than solar power.
