Why Should We Launch Solar Panels Into Space?
To solve the energy crisis currently facing the world, one Japanese space firm is aiming to launch a giant solar panel into space! While this would cost a lot of money, the solar panel would generate capture a ton of energy from the sun! Trace explains how this solar panel in space would be better than any other panel on Earth. To learn more about Full Sail's web and technology programs, visit http://fullsail.edu/dnews Read More: Japan Has A Plan To Start Using Space-based Solar Power By The 2030s http://io9.com/japan-has-a-plan-to-start-using-space-based-solar-power-1569844963 "In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, Japan has doubled its efforts to find a viable alternative to nuclear power." How space-based solar power will solve all our energy needs http://io9.com/5963955/how-space-based-solar-power-will-solve-all-our-energy-needs "Humanity's demand for energy is growing at an astonishing rate. Combine this with an ever-dwindling supply of fossil fuels, and it becomes painfully clear that something innovative and powerful is required." How Japan Plans to Build an Orbital Solar Farm http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/solar/how-japan-plans-to-build-an-orbital-solar-farm "Imagine looking out over Tokyo Bay from high above and seeing a man-made island in the harbor, 3 kilometers long." The Navy's Plan to Beam Down Energy From Orbiting Solar Panels http://www.wired.com/2014/03/space-solar/ "For decades, the Pentagon has been the world's largest oil consumer, and as global petroleum prices continue to rise, the military has been searching for feasible energy alternatives. Now they're looking in space." Space-Based Solar Power http://www.energy.gov/articles/space-based-solar-power NASA's Mighty Saturn V Moon Rocket Explained (Infographic) http://www.space.com/18422-apollo-saturn-v-moon-rocket-nasa-infographic.html Watch More: Solar Powered Bikini https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahbnsZsgOIY TestTube Wild Card http://testtube.com/dnews/dnews-440-skipping-meals?utm_campaign=DNWC&utm_medium=DNews&utm_source=YT Is Solar Energy Worth It? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UCaCUH4BLY ____________________ DNews is dedicated to satisfying your curiosity and to bringing you mind-bending stories & perspectives you won't find anywhere else! New videos twice daily. Watch More DNews on TestTube http://testtube.com/dnews Subscribe now! http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=dnewschannel DNews on Twitter http://twitter.com/dnews Trace Dominguez on Twitter https://twitter.com/tracedominguez Tara Long on Twitter https://twitter.com/TaraLongest Laci Green on Twitter http://twitter.com/gogreen18 DNews on Facebook https://facebook.com/DiscoveryNews DNews on Google+ http://gplus.to/dnews Discovery News http://discoverynews.com Download the TestTube App: http://testu.be/1ndmmMq
Comments
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is a solar cell more affective at collecting the photons in space because its less impeded by other gas molecules in the layers ?
and... would different types of gases that the photon pass through have a potive or negative effect on the waves ability to react with a solar cell?
I have no idea, which his why i ask. -
This would damage the atmosphere, the biosphere and most likely cause quite a bit of cancer from the microwaves. I'm starting to think that Dnews is a biased big sack of bullshit since they only talked about transgenetic crops in a positive way when they did do a video on it.
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The atmosphere is full of floating microorganisms, insects, plant seeds and spores and the occasional bird. Those beams are likely to wipe out a large part of them. I suggest to put those solar panels on the ground...
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People should live in space with solar power.
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It might be viable when they get a space elevator working, the start up cost is a bit over the top.
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It is more logically to place solar panel on desert. Desert have a large amount of land space and doesn't have cloud coverage
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This would be the first step in our species becoming a level civilisation on the Kardeshev scale. I hope not only governments participate in this initiative; but cooperations also.
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With researchers claiming to soon be able to produce a fusion reactor , would it not be wiser to put a trillion dollars into its production ?
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$1 trillion is enough to put a modest size ($8k) solar array on every household in the US (123.2 million households).
Space solar is a waste of money. -
Is there any concern about damaging the Earth's atmosphere by beaming all this energy through the atmosphere? A single space-based solar collector generates the energy equivalent of a nuclear power plant, according to this video. This energy is beamed through the Earth's atmosphere as microwave radiation, and some of this energy will be lost in the form of heat transmitted to the atmosphere.
Also, parts of the atmosphere are "ionized", and might interact with such beamed energy (google the "HAARP" array which uses electromagnetic radiation to effect the Ionosphere). Could beaming vast amounts of microwave energy through Earth's atmosphere cause trouble?
So if we end up with hundreds or thousands of these spaced-based solar collectors, will this have any adverse effect on Earth's atmosphere? We already have enough worries about Global Warming. I don't have the science background to answer these questions, so I'm just speculating. -
UN can put all their monies together.
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This is idiotic.
Just take the trillion dollars and use it to build (a lot more) solar farms on earth. Given launch costs and efficiency losses, you'd produce much more power will less emissions (no emissions from launch or rocket manufacture). -
Putting a trillion dollar power plant to replace a nuclear reactor worth 2 or 3 billion? Trendy environmentalist logic.will leave us in the dark. At least the early proponents of space solar power was smart enough to manufacture photovoltaic cells in space and avoid most of the high launch cost. What's really grating is that nuclear can be more environmentally friendly than solar. The manufacture of photovoltaic cells and mining operations for material producing a lot of toxic material. Unlike nuclear waste that will decay over time, these toxic substances stay toxic forever. Also, nuclear waste can burned as fuel for breeder and molten salt reactors.
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my only hang up is : the microwaves would kill birds in flight. just as the solar array plants in the desert kill fly by birds.
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They could send it to the moon. It would be cheaper and since the moon doesn't have an atmosphere we won't have to worry about the dark. It would probably have to be able to move though like rovers.
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Also, a space-based microwave beam could cause damage if accidentally (or intentionally) directed at a populated area, could it not?
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Putting that in space would be good because it would replace the nuclear power plant and that would reduce the nuclear waste BUT in space, the solar panel will be same as a space junk...
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No need to get rid of nuclear power when we can improve it.
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Why not build it at the lagrange point between the earth and sun? Then beam it using the most efficient method back to orbiting substations in synchronous orbit around the earth. Being closer to the sun would mean it could be smaller since it would be hit with more sunlight per area....though it would also be hit with more radiation that could potentially damage the cells i suppose? Anyways, this is all cost prohibitive, especially until the efficiency of solar cells is increased.
Also, would beaming enough microwaves to power the earth through the atmosphere have any adverse effects? Is that energy lost as heat in the atmosphere? Could it effect the ionosphere?
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