The 1990s revived the interest in flywheels as storage for solar and other energy systems. Technology had finally caught up with ideas that Post had decades before: in a 1973 article for Scientific American - co-written with his son Stephen - Post envisioned flywheel uses for storing energy and powering cars and homes.I mean, really. A 94-year-old guy is poised to invent a way to provide free power for everyone, regardless of income. I am truly impressed.
Post has been called the "father of the modern flywheel," a title he dismisses as "too generous." The rapidly spinning devices not only store energy with minimal losses, but they also generate it.
"It's a very old idea, storing energy in the form of rotation in an object," he said, comparing it to a potter's wheel.
Post visualizes underground installations of the graphite fiber-composite flywheels at power plants, and smaller devices for homes and cars. He hopes to test them within a year.
"Energy bills would be essentially zero," he said.
And all you old people who are farting around, doing nothing with your lives should take note. Age is not an excuse to vegetate. I suggest you drink a strong cup of espresso to get started. And then wake up!
