Physical Transformation AtlasPTA
Pathway · p-a1f9dec817 · candidate

Gravitational potential difference → Electrical work

Gravitational potential differenceTidal flowBulk fluid flowMagnetohydrodynamic generationCharge carriersElectrical work

Epistemic state of the route

known constituent relations
5 / 5 established or replicated · weakest constituent established
constituent maturity floor
K4 · experimentally observed
search for this exact route
Not assessed — complete composition not searched.
recorded-pathway overlap
shares relations, in order, with Tidal stream plant · 2/5 relations shared
route-level evidence
0 sources for the complete composition · 5 cited by the constituent steps
boundaries and interfaces
BOUNDARY compatible · 1 recorded interface
  • mhd-plasma-electrodes · electrode contact · demonstrated · plasma-channel → electrode · carries Charge carriers · within mhd-produces
    the conducting plasma crosses the magnetic field in the generator channel; the induced current is collected at solid electrodes into the external circuit
    the solid electrode is a boundary of the plasma channel, not the active medium of the MHD effect
    Rosa's experimental MHD work (Physics of Fluids 4, 182–194, 1961: an experimental 10 kW generator) used a conducting high-temperature gas and electrodes; the electrode boundary must not make the plasma conversion step inherit state-solid.
    evidence: Physical principles of magnetohydrodynamic power generation

Explorematrix context · physics checks · steps · route evidence · constituent evidence · cite

Matrix context

D = disequilibrium row · C = coupling family column. A cell reads the state of the atlas for that pair.

D.19 × C.24 · Gravitational potential difference × Turbomachineryfamily: TurbomachineryD.19 × C.25 · Gravitational potential difference × Magnetohydrodynamicfamily: Magnetohydrodynamic

Typed bounds on this route

Every limit the atlas holds for this route, as constraint records: reached through bounded_by claims on the route's own entities. Hard bounds (an upper bound or a formula) decide the thermodynamic-bound check above; benchmarks, constitutive relations and resource limits are listed and never decisive. No prose limit exists anywhere (pass 42).

  • Carnot limit · formula-bound · hard, applies to this route
    η ≤ 1 − T_c/T_h for any heat engine between reservoirs at T_h and T_c

Steps

  1. 01
    Gravitational potential difference —drives→ Tidal flowestablishedclaim record
    gravitational → kinetic
    • coastal geometry that funnels the tidal range into a current or a head
    liquid · bulk flow required
    refs [1]
  2. 02
    Tidal flow —produces→ Bulk fluid flowestablishedclaim record
    kinetic → kinetic
    refs [1]
  3. 03
    Bulk fluid flow —drives→ Magnetohydrodynamic generationestablishedclaim record
    kinetic → electrical · loss to thermal
    • an electrically conducting fluid — seeded combustion plasma or liquid metal — crossing a strong magnetic field between electrodes
    bulk flow required · magnetic field required
    refs [2] [3] [4]
  4. 04
    Magnetohydrodynamic generation —produces→ Charge carriersestablishedclaim record
    electrical → electrical
    refs [2] [3]
  5. 05
    Charge carriers —converts into→ Electrical workestablishedclaim record
    electrical → electrical · loss to thermal
    • carriers driven through an external load at the potential difference the source maintains
    refs [5]

Evidence for the complete composition · 0

No source on record for this exact composition. The sources below support the individual steps, not the route as a whole.

Evidence for the constituent relations · 5

  1. [1]
    S. L. Dixon, C. A. Hall. Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics of Turbomachinery (7th ed.) (2014)
    Butterworth-Heinemann · doi:10.1016/C2011-0-05059-7 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  2. [2]
    R. J. Rosa. Physical principles of magnetohydrodynamic power generation (1961)
    Physics of Fluids 4, 182–194 · doi:10.1063/1.1724426 · crossref ✓ 2026-09-19 · record
  3. [3]
    L. D. Landau, E. M. Lifshitz, L. P. Pitaevskii. Electrodynamics of Continuous Media (Course of Theoretical Physics, Vol. 8, 2nd ed.) (1984)
    Pergamon · book, no DOI · record
  4. [4]
    NASA Lewis Research Center, Electromagnetic Propulsion Division. Lewis Tech Preview: Research Nonequilibrium MHD Power Generator Facility
    NASA Lewis Research Center tech preview N-422 67/11-39 (one page; the date is not printed beyond that document code) · www1.grc.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/MHD-Power-Generator-Facility-Tech-Preview.pdf · record
  5. [5]
    N. W. Ashcroft, N. D. Mermin. Solid State Physics (1976)
    Holt, Rinehart and Winston · book, no DOI · record

Cite this route

Physical Transformation Atlas (2026). route p-a1f9dec817: Gravitational potential difference → Tidal flow → Bulk fluid flow → Magnetohydrodynamic generation → Charge carriers → Electrical work. Dataset revision rbfbfcbb70e57 (hash of the canonical data). https://physical-transformation-atlas.wldud5192.workers.dev/path/a1f9dec817

Ids and matrix addresses are stable across revisions; the revision hash identifies the exact canonical files the record was compiled from and is meta.data_hash in every /api export. Reuse terms: see the license field in any export.