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A space solar power prototype that was launched into orbit in January is operational and has demonstrated its ability to wirelessly transmit power in space and to beam detectable power to Earth for the first time.
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MAPLE, short for Microwave Array for Power-transfer Low-orbit Experiment and one of the three key experiments within SSPD-1, consists of an array of flexible lightweight microwave power transmitters driven by custom electronic chips that were built using low-cost silicon technologies. It uses the array of transmitters to beam the energy to desired locations.
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Space solar power provides a way to tap into the practically unlimited supply of solar energy in outer space, where the energy is constantly available without being subjected to the cycles of day and night, seasons, and cloud cover—potentially yielding eight times more power than solar panels at any location on Earth's surface. When fully realized, SSPP will deploy a constellation of modular spacecraft that collect sunlight, transform it into electricity, then convert it to microwaves that will be transmitted wirelessly over long distances to wherever it is needed—including locations that currently have no access to reliable power.
According to officials, space-based solar power could improve energy security in the UK, lower utility bills for consumers and decrease the reliance on fossil fuels. According to a 2021 study, space-based solar power could generate 10 GW of electricity per year by 2050 and would create 143,000 jobs.
"Detectable Power" doesn't fill me with warm and fuzzies..
I'm confused.. This line in the article..
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MAPLE features two separate receiver arrays located about a foot away from the transmitter to receive the energy, convert it to direct current (DC) electricity, and use it to light up a pair of LEDs to demonstrate the full sequence of wireless energy transmission at a distance in space. MAPLE tested this in space by lighting up each LED individually and shifting back and forth between them. The experiment is not sealed, so it is subject to the harsh environment of space, including the wide temperature swings and solar radiation that will be faced one day by large-scale SSPP units.
That.. Doesn't really seem it was transmitted back to Earth. If the transmitter and receiver were a foot apart.
The power levels, this is.. Probably pre-prototype, so.. Questions remain about how much power it can do as well, though the "10GW" statement seems to indicate this is quite expandable. I just.. Don't get the transmitter and receiver being a foot apart and that power was 'Sent from Space'.. Those two things.. Seem mutually exclusive.
"I live near the giant space microwave, it's great- I never even have to turn lights on because everything is glowing! My goldfish keep getting boiled though..."
OMG, if folks are alarmed by "global warming" guess what happens when you pump terawatts from space into the ecosphere?
SMH
Well, 'microwaves' aren't necessarily dangerous. It's just a generic term.
One would.. Certainly HOPE this is something that has already been considered, or something that will be looked at.
But.. The basic technology.. I kinda look at that as a first step towards becoming a type II civilization. The beginnings of a Dyson Sphere, for the Star Trek and other science geeks.
"I live near the giant space microwave, it's great- I never even have to turn lights on because everything is glowing! My goldfish keep getting boiled though..."
Don't be silly. If microwaves were going to cause cancer we'd all be dead by now. Cell phones are microwave, wireless network cards and routers are microwave, satellite TV is microwaves, sat phones are microwave, TV studios use microwave to beam the broadcast to the transmitter locations, etc. etc.
It *is* possible to boil someone's brains in their head, if the power level is high enough...I did it once...did it to a whole bunch of people in fact, including myself. Well, not quite boil, since I realized what was happening and shut down the transmitter before it got to that point. We all had some pretty bad headaches for most of the day though. (I used to work on radar systems, and accidentally fired up a transmitter for a counter-battery radar inside a building, basically turning an entire room into a microwave oven.)
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Originally Posted by jetgraphics
OMG, if folks are alarmed by "global warming" guess what happens when you pump terawatts from space into the ecosphere?
SMH
I think it would 'probably' be offset if there were a corresponding reduction in the use of fossil fuels. But, frankly, the only truly effective way to eliminate human contributions to 'global warming' would be to eliminate all of the cities and the useless people in them, anything less is like trying to change the direction of a hurricane by farting at it.
Cities are huge heat-sinks, soaking up heat from the sun during the day and releasing it at night when things should be cooling down, plus all of the heat generated within the cities by the people and all of their equipment, and all of the effects of power generation to supply the cities with power. Eliminating the cities and all of the people in them would also eliminate the need for factory farming operations, with all of the issues associated with them that people gripe about.
Cities and all of the people in them are the problem, making them go away is the solution.
Well, 'microwaves' aren't necessarily dangerous. It's just a generic term.
One would.. Certainly HOPE this is something that has already been considered, or something that will be looked at.
But.. The basic technology.. I kinda look at that as a first step towards becoming a type II civilization. The beginnings of a Dyson Sphere, for the Star Trek and other science geeks.
You do not comprehend.
WHAT do you do with xyz terawatts?
Ans: Power "stuff"..
.. ..
And what happens when devices are powered?
Waste heat... friction... entropy.
Even motion through the air, itself, generates heat (friction). {A Concorde flying at Mach 2.0 experiences nearly 212 degrees F (100 degrees C) on the outer skin.}
SO pumping all that power INTO the ecosphere to "do stuff" means that much more waste heat / friction added to the ecosystem.
HOW can the planet rid itself of THAT?
Giant radiator fins?
I think [global warming] would 'probably' be offset if there were a corresponding reduction in the use of fossil fuels. . .
Cities and all of the people in them are the problem, making them go away is the solution.
If you believe that burning fossil fuels are warming the planet, perhaps. I do not believe that.
And if genocide is your idea of a remedy, after you... as they say.
- - -
Why I don't subscribe to Climate "Alarmism" - - -
- - - DATA - - -
Earth max : (134.33 F)
Space station max : (250 F)
Lunar surface max : (242.33 F)
Zero atmosphere = higher maximum temperature
How does a "heat trapping"atmosphere stay colder?
And if heat was being 'trapped,' why hasn't the maximum temperature gone up to a new record level?
Is the "Greenhouse effect" like a refrigerator "trapping heat"?
There is no "heating up" or trapping of heat by the atmosphere when it is COOLING the planet. And since there is no conduction nor convection of heat in a vacuum, that leaves RADIATION. The atmosphere is radiating / reflecting back energy, that COOLS the planet.
= = = =
The point is - that based on the current evidence, pumping in MORE terawatts, will be far more disruptive than burning fossil fuels, and their contribution of waste heat to the planetary energy equation.
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