Slashdot Mirror
Solar Power Put to Good Use
Current Shunts writes "Teams from all over the U.S. and Canada will be competing this summer over a 2,500 mile course from Austin, Texas in the United States to Calgary Alberta Canada for the 2005 North American Solar Challenge. The purpose of this event is to promote renewable energy technologies, integrate science and engineering disciplines, and give competitors an opportunity to showcase their technical and creative abilities." At the same time, zestyalbino writes "Construction on the world's largest solar tower [RMIT] may begin next year in Mildura, Australia. In a nutshell, "An ever present large mass of air under an expansive transparent collector (seven kilometres in diameter) is heated by solar radiation (greenhouse effect) providing a continuous flow of hot air to drive electricity generating turbines located around the base of the one-kilometre tall central tower." There's also an article on Wired."
They would have been better off driving SUVs.
as opposed to all those evil uses for solar power?
Solar Power Put to Good Use
Excellent! I was getting tired of all the bad uses it is put to.
Jesse: "I'm still fighting for the earth. I even got 'em to install a solar-powered electric chair."
Snake: [in the solar electric chair] "Dude, we've been here all morning! Could you at least remoisten my head sponge?"
http://www.snpp.com/episodes/CABF01
If all else fails it can just be turned into the worlds largest sun dial...
"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his." - Patton
"My father invented and patented this idea;"
Whoah.. what just came over me? For a moment, I really hated your dad!
"Derp de derp."
Solar Tower my ass.
Where's the rollercoaster built around it with the bungy jumpers streaming to and fro? Where the Rush Limbaugh Ride where you can ride a vent of hot air to the top while sucking down pain killers? Where's the naked acrobat midget dancers? I mean, this is Austraila. Can't we at least put a huge magnifying glass at the top to fry tourists like ants? No? And where's the fucking beer?
but they are :)
now go clean the beakers, I have to just get this experiment to go right just one time out of a thousand, and I'll be able to base my entire thesis on that one data point.
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A better site for it would be over Canberra...... thats where most of the hot air is produced - by politicians that wont support innovative technologies.
Kind of like slashdot.
Here in the Netherlands, that solar plant would never work (real well). :)
However, having a 7 km in diameter plastic shield out somewhere in a flat field, could potentially collect so much rainwater that it would be enough to power miniature generators!
The water falling down through holes in the shield could drive small generator blades which should yield massive amounts of energy from the ever falling rain!
I think Seattle might be the first licensee for the technology! Not to mention Asian countries!
Den Haag, the Netherlands
from Austin, Texas in the United States to Calgary Alberta Canada
Hmmm, from South Texas to North Texas. You'll swear they are exactly the same pickup-truck gun racks!