tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7966769413995995872.post327898486364645500..comments2024-02-25T09:15:09.259-05:00Comments on Project Earth: Orbital Power PlantKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09470064472943416435noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7966769413995995872.post-35104854762105636602011-01-30T14:16:58.315-05:002011-01-30T14:16:58.315-05:00Solar capturing in itself is brilliant .It is a ve...Solar capturing in itself is brilliant .It is a very economic way to use the energy and saves the electricity bills.Now capturing from the space would be even more interesting.NYC Air Conditioning & Vent Cleaninghttp://www.nycairconditioningunits.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7966769413995995872.post-77759475197489803042009-07-21T16:20:40.241-04:002009-07-21T16:20:40.241-04:00I am right now watching this episode as it is aire...I am right now watching this episode as it is aired on Discovery Science in Sweden.<br /><br />As a solar cell researcher myself I am very disappointed by the "show" - because that's what it is in my eyes.<br /><br />Firstly, the earth atmosphere absorbs less than 50% of the solar energy. Also at geostationary orbit the satellites will go through the earth shadow around the equinoxes. This means that not <b>all</b> problems are solved as compared to earth-bound photovoltaics - you would still need some storage capacity or alternative power sources which will only be needed for several days every year. How reliable is a system which is used so rarely?<br /><br />Secondly, the amount of UV radiation as measured by Basil on the mountain top is not of big significance. Even a tripple-junction solar cell as the ones featured on the balloon will not gain much from the little increase in UV radiation (65W at sea-level to 75W on the mountain and perhaps 85W in outer space). Of course you would need to optimize your solar cells for the AM0 spectrum of outer space.<br /><br />Thirdly, it was mentioned that an area of 250000 square kilometres would be needed on earth with conventional solar cells to cover the world's need. Not discussing the accuracy of this figure - that's not soo big! It's a square with 500km long sides. We have this space available on earth: on rooftops and in the deserts of the world!<br /><br />Then the Fresnel lens - it will not reduce the aperture area needed! You will still need to cover the same area - not with solar cells, but with lenses <b>plus</b> 1/8 of the area with solar cells. Concentrator photovoltaics are nothing new - they are already widely used in some large-scale installations e.g. in Spain.<br /><br />And the the microwaves. Not only will you have transmission losses when they pass through the atmosphere - even if you are utilizing one of the absorption holes. But first of all the microwaves need to be generated and radiated. I missed an input power meter on the microwave generators used in the show, and I would be very surprised to see a conversion efficiency significantly above 65%. And then there will of course be conversion losses on the receiver side as well, I assume...<br /><br />Another question is the power density at the receiver stations. Either the antenna arrays hae to be enormous or the power density needs to be high. High enough to cause severe problems if there should be a malfunction or misalignment.<br /><br />I don't expect to see these satellites during my lifetime, but I expect to see much more photovoltaics and other renewable energies here on earth.<br /><br />Uwe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7966769413995995872.post-14900671023394606242009-07-06T00:17:03.360-04:002009-07-06T00:17:03.360-04:00This is an ignorant idea. You cannot solve global...This is an ignorant idea. You cannot solve global warming by increasing the radiation transmitted to the planet!R. R. Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06363833554608843704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7966769413995995872.post-79786478667296589582009-06-04T22:05:39.557-04:002009-06-04T22:05:39.557-04:00I'm a student of Mara Junior Science College, ...I'm a student of Mara Junior Science College, Kulim, Kedah, Malaysia. I know it's a brilliant idea to transfer energy through. So, I have planned for my cousework to do an experiment about wireless elecktric transfer. I really need a help about the apparatus need for this experiment and how to setup it.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Mohamad Faizal<br />mohamadfaizalrosli@yahoo.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7966769413995995872.post-60094474430536964472008-09-21T13:53:00.000-04:002008-09-21T13:53:00.000-04:00It is unfortunate that Project Earth's page doesn'...It is unfortunate that Project Earth's page doesn't have a way through which viewers can submit ideas. Has anyone ever heard of the self-powering battery? I know it is very sci-fi, much in the way of Startgate et al, but you can read about it here: http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/article.asp?ID=7630<BR/><BR/>If for some reason the link goes down, or if links of this sort are frowned upon, I saved the article as a word document...Curtis H. Larrabeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06236337691226612896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7966769413995995872.post-53457486217858584062008-09-21T03:53:00.000-04:002008-09-21T03:53:00.000-04:00It's a Fresnel lens.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...It's a Fresnel lens.<BR/><BR/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_lensStrong Noodle Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06240092066416971490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7966769413995995872.post-83201210126556864052008-09-20T00:36:00.000-04:002008-09-20T00:36:00.000-04:00It seems like the transmission loss offsets the in...It seems like the transmission loss offsets the increased efficiency in space.Alvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06591546334660604804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7966769413995995872.post-61480558571453872672008-09-18T07:13:00.000-04:002008-09-18T07:13:00.000-04:00only data from the exact moment the sun shone dire...only data from the exact moment the sun shone directly on the cells was analysed if you look carefullyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7966769413995995872.post-42658389200561960872008-09-13T08:35:00.000-04:002008-09-13T08:35:00.000-04:00I have a serious problem with the science and the ...I have a serious problem with the science and the techniques being used in all these approaches to solving very serious problems. For instance when they were testing the solar cells, why was the cell without a lens shielded with that bracket instead of being allowed to receive the oblique radiation from which it would continue to generate something instead of only getting a flash of light when the aperture passes over the cell. I'm not saying this stuff won't work but for a person who works with testing equipment like this for a living for the government I am becoming disillusioned with this series because of the sloppy experimental technique.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04675905736076632089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7966769413995995872.post-51508502469858516702008-09-13T05:47:00.000-04:002008-09-13T05:47:00.000-04:00Could you use the microwave power project in combi...Could you use the microwave power project in combination with NASA’s tethered satellite project?In 1996, NASA experimented with a tethered satellite. The project used a tethered satellite (the tether containing metal and being 12.5 miles long), moving through the magnetosphere. It worked under the same principle as a dynamo, where a moving wire in a magnetic field would create electricity. One part of the circuit was the tether itself, where the other was the ionosphere, the distant, ionized region of our atmosphere.<BR/><BR/>thanks<BR/>GaryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com