Generator Problem in Afghanistan

[steve66]

Re: Generator Problem in Afghanistan

Thinner air at 6:00 PM doesn't make much sense to me.

Air mass constantly changes as the earth rotates. Thus, at 6:00PM each day (as the earth rotates) the air mass is so thin

The earth rotating doesn't have anything directly to do with air mass. The earth is always rotating. The only effect this would have on air mass is by temperature changes due to the sun's position (ie. midday heat would cause air to expand and be thinner). But I would think this would happen earlier like 2:00 or 3:00 PM.

Steve

 

[c-h]

Re: Generator Problem in Afghanistan

Although I don't doubt that the solution works, I don't think the problem is the air pressure. I assume these are diesel engines. Reducing the air pressure will mean that there is less air for the combustion while the fuel will stay the same. To reduce black smoke, a diesel runs with much more air than is needed for the combustion, unlike a gasoline engine, which is fed exactly as much air as is needed to combust the fuel. Reducing the amount of air to the diesel, will result in a lot of smoke long before you loose significant amounts of power.