Faq's

FAQ’s About The Gravity Harvester And Misunderstood Facts About Helium.

Question:

Isn’t helium flammable? No. Helium is not flammable. The helium in the Gravity Harvester cannot catch fire or explode.

Sometimes helium is confused with Hydrogen. Hydrogen is similar to helium, except very flammable and very explosive. Hydrogen can provide about 8% more lift capacity than helium, but the risks of using hydrogen and causing a catastrophic explosion, outweigh the benefits of using it.
Helium is stored in large steel bottles under extreme pressure. Unfortunately, many serious accidents have occurred when the nozzles of the helium bottles were accidentally broken off. If a nozzle is broken off, the bottle then becomes a missile and ‘high pressure accidents’ happen. These 'high pressure accidents' are sometimes confused with explosions. The helium in the GH cannot explode, catch fire, or cause a ‘high pressure accident'.

Question:

Isn’t helium in short supply? Yes, but there may be ways to increase the availability.

Presently, 0.5 to 4 percent of natural gas production returns helium as a byproduct. Perhaps, more effective methods could be developed to extract greater amounts of helium from natural gas production.
An increase in the demand for helium may spur more ways to mine it.
Helium particles are somewhat similar to Uranium particles. They are often found together when mined. Because they are similar, research is being done in major universities to determine if It may be possible to convert the uranium waste from nuclear power plants into helium.

Question:

Does helium come in different purities?

Yes. The purity of helium usually ranges from 80% to more than 99% pure. Purer helium provides more lift capacity, and is more expensive.

Question:

Is there a way to keep the helium from escaping from the balloons.

Today, helium will eventually escape from every material except graphene. Until Graphene is commercially available, the escaped helium can be recaptured within the shaft. Graphene is expected to be affordable, and commercially available before 2033. There will be no helium loss if Graphene balloons are used, and no need to recapture the helium within the shaft. There will be only a one time cost for helium, and less maintenance will be required. (Note: Many industrial workers, such as welders, claim that helium can escape through their steel bottles very quickly. That is true, however, the helium actually escapes through the valves of the bottle, and not the steel bottle itself)

Question:

What is the average household cost of electricity in the U.S.?

Question:

What are the present FUEL COSTS associated with producing electricity within the U.S.

4 cents to 17 cents per kWh depending on the area. The Gravity Harvester will not have fuel costs associated with it. Essentially, there will be a one time cost for helium. Besides lower maintenance costs, fewer government regulations, and other savings, the GH will also save 4 to 17 cents per kWh in fuel costs, compared to coal and natural gas.

Question:

How tall must the Gravity Harvester be.

If the gravity Harvester proves to be feasible, the shafts will probably need to be very tall, perhaps 500 feet or more. To provide a steady stream of electricity, and provide structural stability, Gravity Harvesters will need to be built in large arrays with footprints covering many acres.

Question:

Because the Gravity Harvesters will need to be as tall as skyscrapers, won’t that make them prohibitively expensive?

Gravity Harvesters will need to be as tall as skyscrapers, but the cost to build a GH will be a small fraction of the cost of a skyscraper. The amount of materials used in a GH will be much less than virtually any structure the same height. Essentially, a GH will be only be a shaft with steel walls, and other relatively inexpensive parts. The costs to build a GH tower would be more akin to that of a scaffold rather than a skyscraper.

Question:

Does the air temperature affect the lift capacity of the helium balloon?

Question:

Is the GH weather dependent?

Question:

How much energy can the GH produce?

The size of the balloon and the height of the tower determine how much electricity can be generated. Presently, it's unknown whether the GH will generate enough electricity to be feasible.

Question:

How can the GH help to increase the output of existing windmills?

Since the GH must be built in large arrays, and as tall than windmills, it may be possible to position them diagonally to funnel more wind into the existing windmill blades.

Question:

Can Gravity Harvesters be built in remote isolated areas?

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