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Space-Based Solar Power Hardware Was Just Launched into Orbit for Testing
- nullish_signal 4y agoI wish every headline about "Space Solar" would include the phrase -Orbital Ion Cannon- This is a much more frightening concept than the ground-based reflective solar that is already known to blind/cook birds Hope they keep that thing pointed the right way, and that there are failsafes for mis-direction or loss of orientation
- ggm 4y ago1) the RF it transmits is in the microwave region and is not photons, ions or ionising radiation as I understand it 2) the receiving stations are typically huge, antenna farms, and intensity per cm^2 is within tolerable and would not cook eyeballs or focus to a point 3) you would be aware that a vast semi incoherent tuned light source of incredible magnitude, based on fusion power, emits RF all the way up into the optical region and beyond into UV, and can represent a severe threat for only 15 minutes radiation or 'insolation' as it is sometimes called, and has shockingly predictable recurrence on a 24h cycle, except when a small orbital safety screen is in exactly the right place for brief occultations. We've learned to respect the furnace, and it's gravitational effect on us.
- tuatoru 4y agoThe other day I received moderate radiation burns from the source described in 3. So far the skin peeling is fairly limited...
- ggm 4y agoRadiation hormesis..
- nullish_signal 4y agoAh, hopefully you're right that this technology will always be similar to daytime Sun intensity. It really scares the hell out of me