4 ms·
How would the power be transmitted? Laying wires across the moon seems like a huge undertaking. Maybe this would be an ideal application for microwave power
by catalogia 6y ago
How would the power be transmitted? Laying wires across the moon seems like a huge undertaking. Maybe this would be an ideal application for microwave power transmission between satellites or even statites?
If long-term human occupancy of the moon became a thing, it would be interesting to see what sort of cultural changes occur in a population working on a 'two productive weeks; two rest weeks' schedule.
- narag 6y agoNo atmosphere, I guess a laser would transmit power well.
- emiliobumachar 6y agoI'm reading gp's suggestion as a single base in a single pole, which always gets sunlight from one direction. Cabling can be very short.
- narag 6y agoYes, but even in a single pole cable would not be too short. After all we're considering bootstrapping, and moving tons of copper to the Moon doesn't sound cheap. I've heard there are points which the sunlight never reach, but not about permanent sunlight.
- emiliobumachar 6y agoA quick search indicates that indeed there is no permanent sunlight, which, yes, invalidates the suggestion that just solar panels could be enough. https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2018/02/03/commentary-the-poles-of-the-moon-are-the-most-valuable-real-estate-in-the-solar-system/ https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2018/02/03/comment... "Due to the orientation of the moon’s spin axis, the sun skirts and circles around the polar horizon. On certain mountain peaks, or elevated crater rims, the sun shines 80 percent to 95 percent of the year, with short periods of darkness easily bridged by temporary power sources, such as fuel cells."