• Could solar-wind power Earth?
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[quote] [img]http://cdn.physorg.com/newman/gfx/news/hires/couldsolarwi.jpg[/img] Source: plus.maths.org [/quote] [b](PhysOrg.com) -- As we strive to find sources of alternative energy, a number of researchers continue to look to what we consider the ultimate in renewable energy -- the sun. However, on earth creating efficient solar panels remains a challenge. While solar cells have been increasing in efficiency, and while new advances are made in solar technology on earth, there are some looking to harvest solar energy a little bit closer to the source by harvesting energy from the solar wind.[/b] The solar wind is a stream of charged particles that heads outward from the sun's upper atmosphere. They move outward toward Earth and the rest of the planets, and provide the potential to power to the entire Earth, according to some researchers. And, even though we refer to the solar wind as "wind", it wouldn't provide energy in the way we see wind turbines act here on earth. Instead, energy from the solar wind would be collected by a gigantic sail deployed in space, between the sun and Earth. [i]One proposal has been offered by scientists at Washington State University. Discovery News reports on the specs of a massive solar sail -- and its potential: According to the team's calculations, 300 meters (984 feet) of copper wire, attached to a two-meter-wide (6.6-foot-wide) receiver and a 10-meter (32.8-foot) sail, would generate enough power for 1,000 homes. A satellite with a 1,000-meter (3,280-foot) cable and a sail 8,400 kilometers (5,220 miles) across, placed at roughly the same orbit, would generate one billion billion gigawatts of power.[/i] The real challenge is how to get all that energy back to Earth in order to power the planet. One idea is to use a concentrated laser beam to send the energy back to Earth. Unfortunately, there would be millions of miles between satellite and its earthly target, making it difficult for the laser beam to reach the planet without widening and losing energy. While it is likely that the solar sail could be built and deployed with current technology, beaming the energy it harvests from the solar wind will take a little more time to figure out. Until then, we will have to be content with solar cells on Earth. [url=http://www.physorg.com/news205411403.html]News Source[/url] [url=http://news.discovery.com/tech/solar-wind-energy-power.html]More Information[/url]
Yes
"[I]one billion billion gigawatts of power"[/I] That's alot of power.
[IMG]http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/6717/trollscience.png[/IMG]
Thanks for labelling earth on there for me Sobotnik.
A billion billion gigawatts? Fuck.. that's a lot of power. Makes you wonder just how much power a dyson sphere would put out.. EDIT: Wait, wouldn't the solar sail cause a huge shadow on earth?
1.21 billion billion jigawatts?
[QUOTE=imadaman;25336921]1.21 billion billion jigawatts?[/QUOTE] [img]http://bladeordie.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/docsg3.jpg[/img] We've gotta get this power source going. :v:
[QUOTE=imadaman;25336921]1.21 billion billion jigawatts?[/QUOTE] That's only 0.21 billion billion gigawatts (jiggawatts) more [editline]12:16AM[/editline] Btw, solar wind is mostly comprised of protons and electrons - Earth's magnetic field keeps them from reaching the surface, but in far northern regions of Earth you can see them as aurorae. [editline]12:16AM[/editline] Btw, solar wind is mostly comprised of protons and electrons - Earth's magnetic field keeps them from reaching the surface, but in far northern regions of Earth you can see them as aurorae.
What happens if the shadow of the giant sail ends up passing over a country? :ohdear:
It's like solar power and wind power fucked and created the greatest renewable resource ever conceived.
Wow, this is amazing. Technology always baffles me.
[QUOTE=DireAvenger;25337139]What happens if the shadow of the giant sail ends up passing over a country? :ohdear:[/QUOTE] When a bug flies in front of a lightbulb does it cast a huge shadow across the room? No
[QUOTE=ZekeTwo;25337709]When a bug flies in front of a lightbulb does it cast a huge shadow across the room? No[/QUOTE] It casts a shadow though. If you have a 6000 mile wide screen then it's going to cast a large shadow somewhere.
[QUOTE=Sobotnik;25338324]It casts a shadow though. If you have a 6000 mile wide screen then it's going to cast a large shadow somewhere.[/QUOTE] At the speed the sail would be moving I doubt it would cause a problem. Much like sitting in a field on a sunny day and a cloud goes across, it looks really cool when the shadow moves off into the distance.
The sail could be trailing behind the earth's orbit, or even above or below one of the poles. The 'shadow' in this instance would probably be spread out over space billions of light years away. It would probably be best to have the sail above Antarctica. The energy would have to be beamed down, and if the focusing of this beam ever went awry then it could be dangerous, so a big cold uninhabited continent sounds perfect.
[QUOTE=Yahnich;25338707]You know this sounds oddly familiar to this one dream I had where mankind built a huge magnifying glass in space as a weapon of mass destruction.[/QUOTE] do you always dream of bond movies
Reminds me of one of Issac Asimov's robot short storys, Where they have stations orbiting stars to collect energy and beam it back to planets.
[QUOTE=Helix Alioth;25335805]one billion billion gigawatts of power[/QUOTE] [img]http://imgkk.com/i/_tq-.jpg[/img]
Great scott!
[QUOTE=Helix Alioth;25335805]would generate [b]one billion billion gigawatts[/b] of power.[/QUOTE] Is that a typo? No, that's SCIENCE! :science:
Erm why dont we use like waypoints/pylons instead of the beam going directly to earth. If its so far away then this only makes sense, place one at the maximum distance between the previous without losing enough energy to care about.
Isn't this how the Fantastic Four got their..gifts?
Solar power *should* be powering every home in a cheap kit by now, I fail to see how this isn't mainstream. Plus nuclear power works better than gas and harebrained ideas anyway.
Yeah lets build a dyson sphere while we are at it. We'll get right to it after building our space elevator. Congrats science, you have figured out that you can generate power by strapping a MASSIVE WINDMILL TO THE PLANET. By the time this tech is even REMOTELY viable, solar cell efficiency will have rendered it useless. Fucking ridiculous waste of time.
1 billion billion gigawatts can't be right. That's over twice the energy output of the sun.
if that were even possible that'd be pretty awesome.
The next challenge is protecting it from all the space junk in orbit and meteorites that will rip the sail to shreds.
[QUOTE=Helix Alioth;25335805] [b]The real challenge is how to get all that energy back to Earth in order to power the planet.[/b] One idea is to use a concentrated laser beam to send the energy back to Earth. Unfortunately, there would be millions of miles between satellite and its earthly target, making it difficult for the laser beam to reach the planet without widening and losing energy. [/QUOTE] Really long extension cords.
What would happen if you pulled on those cords? :ohdear:
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