I saw this link on another forum about using an artificial tornado/vortex to turn turbines and generate power. I realize that this is a press release, so I went to the website of the company in question and skimmed the overview page for their “atmospheric vortex engine”.
One of the paragraphs of that page states that the “heat to work conversion efficiency of the process is approximately 15% because the heat is received at an average temperature of 15 C and given up at an average temperature of -15 C”. I am a physics student, but I have nearly no knowledge of fluid dynamics or meteorology. However, if the claim is that their engine takes in heat at 15 degrees celsius, and expels waste heat at -15 degrees celsius, then the maximum theoretical efficiency should be about 10.4%. What say you about the veracity of this company’s claims?