An Eventual Masters Thesis, part 1

Maybe. I don't really know how I would pitch it, or plan its implementation, but I figure I have to put it out there... thesis squatting, of sorts. Mine!

        an abandoned city
    + extremely dangerous conditions
    + renewable energy experiment
    + potential interplanetary applications
    --------------------
    = heaps of sweet, sweet grant money, buckets of adventure,
          and a job anywhere I damn well please

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Welcome to Centralia, PA. (and a wicked ugly website)
40° 48' N, 76° 20' W

Ah, 1962. Bob Dylan's debut, the US levies a trade embargo against Cuba, DDT covers suburbia, and city policies of burning garbage... which ignited an exposed vein of coal which ran the length and width of the town. Oops. In 1984, Congress bought out most of the residents, except for a few yokels who stuck out the steady carbon monoxide poisoning and hundred-feet-deep sinkhole surprises until 1992 when Pennsylvania claimed eminent domain and condemned the town.

Apparently, burning garbage is a bad idea. Michigan had a much more effective trash disposal policy - just dump it in the swamps. No problem there, right? Right?

Still, with a group of adventurous folk organized like a glacier-walking trip (so as not to fall into sinkholes), plus gas masks (CO suffocation) and a couple burn kits, this could be quite the adventure. Even though most of the buildings have been demolished, there's sure to be quite a few left, and I did see one picture (though I don't know how recent) of the still-standing downtown...


Statement of Intent for an Eventual Masters Thesis
on the topic of Centralia and very alternative energy applications

So, keeping in mind that this thesis is only in the thinking-out-loud stage, here's the idea. The massive lode of Centralia's coal will be burning off for another 250 years. That's a lot of heat. I'm not necessarily thinking of a geothermal application, or of somehow harnessing the carbon monoxide produced by the fire. This project would revolve more around harnessing the heat created by the coal to produce steam to then produce power.

Siphoning water from underground may or may not be a problem, depending on whether the water table is used by any nearby residents, but I would imagine one could always collect the steam for reuse. The hardest part here would be building a mobile steam turbine generator, one that could handle rough and unstable terrain (hence potential interplanetary applications... random morning bus musing). Some sort of decommissioned tank...?

At first, I thought this idea just sounded sort of like when, at age ten, I spent a summer researching submarines at the library (with a card catalog, no less!) and designing plans for a perfect, fully-functional submersible vehicle out of the propane tank which heated our house (not taking into account, of course, that the propane tank was designed against interior pressure, rather than pressure from external forces). But writing this down for the first time, I'm realizing this endeavor actually has some merit to it. And, really, it's quite steampunk. Hm, I suppose I'll have to invest in some welding goggles. And date some chick with a Tank Girl vibe.

This thesis is sounding better all the time.

More to come.