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The biggest problem with setting a solar farm in space is efficient energy transfer [1]. Bezos proposes to build also industrial zones in space, but then the pr
by hawski 10y ago
The biggest problem with setting a solar farm in space is efficient energy transfer [1]. Bezos proposes to build also industrial zones in space, but then the problem is raw material transfer [2]. The easiest thing to do is to reap what you can here on surface of the Earth.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-based_solar_power https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-based_solar_power
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_manufacturing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_manufacturing
- oelmekki 10y agoThanks! This makes me realize that the biggest energy challenge for humanity may not be to produce it, but rather to store it.
- Crespyl 10y agoOrbital solar is such a fantastic idea, until you realize that any kind of energy transfer at useful scales is almost by necessity going to be strategically equivalent to a BF laser beam. Needless to say, that's going to be a tricky subject in the current geopolitical climate. I'm reminded of the book "The Mote in God's Eye", which featured an alien race using an enormous orbital laser array to launch an interstellar solar sail vehicle. The launch was pretty much the crowning achievement of the race, and also the pretty much the last one, as the launch laser was almost immediately turned back on the planet itself.