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The solar industry knew that it wouldn't work. Anyone with a high school understanding of physics could figure out that it wouldn't work. The early trials faile
by jdietrich 7y ago
The solar industry knew that it wouldn't work. Anyone with a high school understanding of physics could figure out that it wouldn't work. The early trials failed spectacularly and nobody learned anything new. Subsequent trials also failed spectacularly and nobody learned anything new. People are still funding trials with exactly the same flaws as previous failed trials, presumably due to some sort of magical thinking.
Science should at the very least be informed guesswork - if you don't start with a reasonable hypothesis and don't update your hypothesis in light of the evidence, it's just alchemy.
- blunte 7y agoTo be fair, the Dutch solar bike path was reportedly more successful than expected. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SolaRoad#Results_of_trial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SolaRoad#Results_of_trial https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/dutch-solar-road-proves-successful-moves-on-to-heavy-traffic-road-trial-2018-10-19/rep_id:4136 https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/dutch-solar-road-p... So the idea isn't too crazy, it seems. Maybe it is unsuitable for heavy vehicles, or in areas where particulate is more likely to collect and affect the light gathering; but to some degree it can be successful.