[Strawbale] Radiant energy and Law of Inverse Squares (was Re: Forced air)

[Robert Tom]

On Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:48:36 -0500, Lance Collins  
<collinsl at bigpond.net.au> wrote:

Stronzo di Nord writ:

>> The thing about radiant heating energy is that it obeys the law of  
>> inverse squares --
>
> You might want to check this out.   I have an idea that the inverse  
> square law applies to a point source and not to a plane source such as a  
> wall.
[snip]
> At the moment I'm more focused on cooling with many days over 40 degrees  
> and several nights with the minimums above 25.  I need a ground source  
> cool pump.
>
> Cheers
>
> Lance
> Melbourne
> Australia

Geeze, how do I get sucked into these things ?
(Rhetorical question to which the answer is: "By opening your %^@*@% yap,  
stoopit".

Lance;

I thought my days of having to do school homework assignments ended along  
with my days of pimples, fast cars and even faster women. (ie. I'm not  
looking it up. You look it up.)
Okay, okay. I still get a pimple now and then, but I'm still not looking  
it up.

 From distant memory of long-ago studies for an undergrad degree in a  
discipline (physics) that I never actually practised professionally in the  
Real World ...  radiant energy consists of a discreet spectrum of  
wavelengths (infrared and near-infrared ?) and that energy obeys the Law  
of Inverse Squares as it relates to IIRC, the Second Law of  
Thermodynamics. ( And IIRC, the law of inverse squares applies to other  
phenomena as well ... sound and optics perhaps ? And maybe Alan's liquids  
too ?) I'm sure that any practising physicists on these Lists will make  
the necessary corrections to the blatherings of my foggy memory.

But I don't see why it would matter whether that radiant energy emanates  
 from a point source or any other-shaped source. ie  The type of energy is  
the same. The means of measurment of  distance does not change. What else  
is there to consider ?

And about cooling and that ground-sourced heat pump ... maybe it'd be  
simpler and more reliable to just dig a deep hole in the ground, put a  
thick, well-insulated lid on it, hop in and call it "home" ?

(Most of the ground-sourced heat pumps that I've encountered in my  
neighbourhood (or more correctly, the owners of those GSHP systems)  
reported failures of the heat exchangers, usually within 3 years, at $2000  
- $10,000 a pop to replace the HX, leading one of the afore-mentioned  
owners to rip out the GSHP in disgust after the 3rd failure, offering it  
for free to anyone who wanted it.)

-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
< A r c h i L o g i c  at chaffY a h o o  dot  c a >
manually winnow the chaff from my edress in your reply