Abstract
WHEN a volume V of a pure solvent mixes irreversibly with a much larger volume of a solution the osmotic pressure of which is P, the free energy lost is equal to PV. The osmotic pressure of sea-water is about 20 atmospheres1, so that when a river mixes with the sea, free energy equal to that obtainable from a waterfall 680 ft. high is lost. There thus exists an untapped source of power which has (so far as I know) been unmentioned in the literature.
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References
Mikaye, Y., Bull. Chem. Soc. Japan, 14, 55 (1939).
Pattle, R. E., Brit. Pat. Application 1939/53 (Jan. 22, 1953).
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PATTLE, R. Production of Electric Power by mixing Fresh and Salt Water in the Hydroelectric Pile. Nature 174, 660 (1954). https://doi.org/10.1038/174660a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/174660a0
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