Moon Drag?

[Dak]

what about wind power? if we had enough wind generators, could we essentially make enough 'drag' on the air that average wind speed started dropping?

 

im not actually sure where wind comes from (apart from beans)... is it just differently-heated air that causes wind?

 

[edit]umm...how did that happen?

 

YT and klaynos seem to be posting from the future? [/edit]

[Sisyphus]

Seems like it would have to reduce the height of tides and speed of currents. The crashing waves thing would just be a side effect of that, no?

 

Oh, and Dak: winds are caused primarily by pressure gradients, air flowing from high to low. Temperature differences are a major cause of that - warmer air rising, leaving low pressure in its wake. That's what all coastal breezes are, because water retains heat longer than land, etc. Other factors include stuff like the coriolis effect and landscape obstacles.

 

EDIT: Wow, you're right. This is quite the temporal anomaly. Future posters, is there anything we should be warned about?

[YT2095]

a thought occurred to me just, IF we were to employ Tidal power on a Massive scale, obviously we`de be extracting energy out of a System.

 

*(there`s no such thing as a free lunch)*

 

would this have any backlash on the Moon and it`s Orbit?

[Klaynos]

Nope, the energy is already expended by the waves breaking on the shore.

[YT2095]

so all it would do effectively is stop or reduce waves hitting the beach?

 

Hmmm... might actually have a 2 fold benefit in way of beach erosion too

 

 

Cheerz! I can`t believe I overlooked that part ;-P

[J.C.MacSwell]

a thought occurred to me just, IF we were to employ Tidal power on a Massive scale, obviously we`de be extracting energy out of a System.

 

*(there`s no such thing as a free lunch)*

 

would this have any backlash on the Moon and it`s Orbit?

 

Yes. Less energy would be extracted from the system than otherwise.

[YT2095]

well I expected in my "Thought experiment" that the moon would have a shorter orbit (duration per cycle), as in it would have less gravitational "Friction", and thus we`re taking away energy buy using this "Friction" to make us electricity.

 

so WAS I right?

 

a Prediction I would make from my "thought experiment" would be that all things being the same, the Moon would have a longer orbit (duration time) if Earth were 100% water, and a Shorter orbit if it were cast in solid rock with no movables.