4 ms·
In space they generate ~7x as much power averaged over the day (24hr sunlight, plus full power all the time) and during the winter in the upper latitudes it has
by coryrc 4y ago
In space they generate ~7x as much power averaged over the day (24hr sunlight, plus full power all the time) and during the winter in the upper latitudes it has got to be at least 100x the power you get from one on the ground.
- manholio 4y ago> 24hr sunlight That means you either need to sync the satellite with the Earth's rotation (Sun synchronous orbit), so you will deliver power at the exact time the corresponding Earth region has full sunlight (and thus, a surplus), or that you will have to go at insane altitudes. Or that you would need to launch some sort of orbital power ring that can transport the energy around the world. Good-luck beaming power from SSO or across spans of thousands of miles. First let's see a phone that charges from across the room with no matter how bad efficiency, or an electric car charging wirelessly on the go.
- Nomentatus 4y agoThe US military has already made a space-based test of power transmission from orbit via microwave (hundreds of miles down). Dunno if they published the results, possibly not.
- Schroedingersat 4y ago> Good-luck beaming power from SSO or across spans of thousands of miles. First let's see a phone that charges from across the room with no matter how bad efficiency, or an electric car charging wirelessly on the go. This is the actual impetus behind the push. Much like nuclear, the militaries of the world want a new toy (focused beam weapon), but want to pass the buck to the civilian population and claim that it's abundant cheap power with no risks.