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Very true, I'm still waiting for my 80% solar panels.
by rhacker 6y ago
Very true, I'm still waiting for my 80% solar panels.
- adrianN 6y agoDo you want to launch a satellite where every gram counts? We have plenty of space to put solar panels, Dollars per Watt is what you want to optimize and that measure has improved by orders of magnitude in the last twenty years.
- rhacker 6y agoWell, my RV has room for about 6, and with 80% panels I could have air conditioning without being plugged in and not have to cover a 1/4 acre of desert with roll-out panels and store them too.
- c22 6y agoAnd keep them clean!
- Retric 6y agoThere are some really interesting applications of high efficiency solar panels. At 40+% efficiency you can charge slightly modified EV’S left outside enough to break 15,000 miles of added range per year. It's not currently practical, but drop the price enough and it’s a compelling use case. Unfortunately, even 80% isn't enough for high speed solar aircraft, but they could offset a lot of fuel needed for APU’s and even supply useful amounts of thrust.
- raffraffraff 6y agoScrew planes. I want zeppelins to come back. And let's make them nuclear, baby. And maybe add sails to take advantage of the wind if it's going our way. A properly zero emissions way to travel. Plus, with the huge surface area of the zeppelin coated in solar collectors, you heat the passenger compartment and turn every surface into a wireless charger.
- Retric 6y agoA 150+ mph electric zeppelin seems like a viable technology. You get vertical takeoff and landing and low noise, which should let you do have many of the advantages of high speed rail at much lower capital costs. Battery weight isn’t such a big deal as long as your limited to say a 2 hour flight. Most inner cities are right next to water so you do the bus approach of inner city to inner city while swapping batteries.
- rhacker 6y agoI don't know if they solved the worldwide helium shortage.