tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753820.post926996096838154913..comments2023-10-30T04:16:25.917-04:00Comments on Sentient Developments: Beaming solar power to Earth with satellitesGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13003484633933455827noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753820.post-27759599162870598692012-04-19T08:05:38.804-04:002012-04-19T08:05:38.804-04:00A comment that was submitted by email:
You write:...A comment that was submitted by email:<br /><br />You write:<br />"There's no question that we need to seriously consider harvesting the sun's energy in space with massive solar panels." -<br /> <br />In my opinion there is a question. Instead of listing all issues here I'll refer to this post: http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2012/03/space-based-solar-power/. I am sure more scholarly reviews of the issue exist elsewhere, but the above provides a good overview and I have the link handy. <br /> <br />Also, and it is not mentioned in the above analysis, there is a fundamental issue with bringing energy to Earth by any means. <br /><br />If an additional energy influx from human activities is not considered, Earth is a pretty balanced system. 174PW of the solar income are ether absorbed by land or reflected/radiated back. If there is an additional energy influx from human activity, the balance is upset. At the moment the world energy consumption is increasing by approximately 2.3..2.5% annually. Most of the energy is a direct influx rather than tapping one way or another into the solar income. With such rate the surface temperature would rise to the boiling point in about 300...400 years. Space based energy generation does not solve the overheating issue. It is still the same influx of additional unbalanced energy.<br /> <br />There are only two ways to avoid the issue. One is to decrease the solar income to balance the additional energy. The second solution is to have all energy generated from solar income down ON the earth surface. I stress "on the surface" because in that case no additional influx would be generated.<br /><br />Regards,<br />ArtemiGeorgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13003484633933455827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6753820.post-1006296438910641802012-04-18T16:51:41.872-04:002012-04-18T16:51:41.872-04:00Not only imagine the power generation capabilities...Not only imagine the power generation capabilities....but also the optical possibilities if they were to put imaging equipment on each gatherer! You could have a distributed telescope larger than the sunDean Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08954202664742112122noreply@blogger.com