5 ms·
This was obviously never going to work; I think it's far more interesting as a piece of morality theater and/or a psychological ink-blot test. Because who looks
by rdiddly 7y ago
This was obviously never going to work; I think it's far more interesting as a piece of morality theater and/or a psychological ink-blot test. Because who looks at a system like this (individual humans carted around extravagantly in an energy-intensive, 4,000-pound CO2-belching murder machine, on an expensive and space-intensive road created just for them) and thinks, you know what's wrong with this system? It doesn't generate enough energy. Mmm yeah, you're almost right. Sort of like how a violent person doesn't generate enough not-punching-people. Keep going with that reasoning. See if you can use the phrase "in the first place" in your answer.
It's fascinating. Obviously they seem to grasp the system has something wrong with it, and the problem has something to do with energy. But when that line of thought begins to lead them inexorably toward the conclusion that they should actually probably stop driving immediately, like today, they take a quick left turn into something else, anything else, whatever's available and "green" - SOLAR, let's do the solar. That'll absolve our sins. Hence, where do you place the panels? In the road, where the sin occurred.
It's like the dim awareness of our actual transportation/energy predicament, is in the cellar of their subconscious, knocking at the door to enter conscious awareness, but not quite managing to get the person's attention. The mental contortions required to actually like this idea, remind me a lot of the ones required to maintain various states of denial. The fact being desperately avoided of course is that a set of changes far more sweeping and less pleasant than they're willing to admit or allow, are going to be necessary.
- fencepost 7y agoThis was obviously never going to work Could be, and I suspect that a lot of the actual engineering folks involved would agree 100% on this point. They'd probably also tell you that 5 million for real - world experimental data on the exact ways in which it failed was very much worth it. Was there anything else worth responding to in the wordy pseudo-psychological insults?
- Atheros 7y agoMay I please read the real-world experimental data that will save other companies millions of dollars?
- eitland 7y agoGo right ahead. Scientific papers are probably easier to access than anytime before. Start by looking for optimal angels for mounting solar panels. Last I heard, unless you have movable panels the only correct angle is where they catch most of the sun in the middle of the day.
- lorenzhs 7y ago1.) I think the OP was asking where they can find the insights obtained from this failed solar road test that would allow others to save money. Not general photovoltaics stuff. 2.) Angling solar panels is a more complex problem than you might have thought: https://www.eupvsec-proceedings.com/proceedings?fulltext=munzke&paper=33024 https://www.eupvsec-proceedings.com/proceedings?fulltext=mun... :)
- fencepost 7y agoThat may not be made available depending on the company involved with the roadway. They may very well consider it proprietary information to be used in development of future products.