4 ms·

Why would we build a solar panel that has a microwave emitter instead of just building a mirror?

• aaronblohowiak 4y ago
  Is our atmosphere more or less transparent to some parts of the frequency spectrum than others? Is the diffusion different?
  • gibolt 4y ago
    This is the point. High energy needs to be transferred in a narrow beam, and be minimally impacted by all layers of our atmosphere
  • wcoenen 4y ago
    > Is our atmosphere more or less transparent to some parts of the frequency spectrum than others? Yes. The frequencies that are not blocked are called "atmospheric windows". And there is indeed such a window for microwaves. These windows also exist for visible light and a range of IR, but those depend more on weather conditions. https://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Atmospheric_window https://glossary.ametsoc.org/wiki/Atmospheric_window