Slashdot Mirror
Beamed Space Solar Power Plant To Open In 2016?
Eric_S writes "Anybody who managed to get a decent city going in Sim City 2000 remembers the microwave power plant; now it seems like a real-world equivalent might be coming up on the horizon.
The Pacific Gas and Electricity Company, per this 'interview' with the CEO of Solaren on their affiliated site, announced PG&E's plans to buy 200MW of base-load power from a Solaren beamed space solar power plant by 2016." I wish the skeptic in me would be quiet.
Because the people over there are pretty progressive on the green energy front, and if there are any problems it will be over San Francisco.
Why do I picture human-sized ants under a magnifying glass when the beam shifts a little.
My mirror up there in the sky got dinked by a marble sized piece of green cheese and burned up your crop. But don't worry about green, in paper form, cheese form or your crops because you won't be needing those eyes as you looked up at the unusual shiny bright thingy.
Ah, that's one way to get a quick tan I'm sure.
We could sell time in it to celebrities.
Or just run animals* through for quick roast dinners.
* or celebrities
Memo from the United States
... I heard Mexico is very jealous.
... but look on the bright side--there sure the hell ain't no zebra mussels left in there now!
February 12th, 2020
Dear Canada,
Yesterday a piece of space trash knocked our Microwave Power Plant operating over Oregon off target from its station. Unfortunately, it continued to beam a strong powerful ray of energy down as its sights fell over your Western provinces. We are sorry.
We urge you not to think of it as "a swath of destruction" so much as "a wicked cool tattoo"
Williston Lake was a very beautiful lake right up until it evaporated
We're also sorry that instead of shutting it down, we just swung it back over Canada to its power station in Oregon and next time we will totally just stop it before this happens. To make up for it, we'll send you some extra power so your people stop rioting and Mad Maxing.
We hope there's no hard feelings,
Sincerely,
The United States
My work here is dung.
This is Sim Copter 1 reporting heavy casualties...
From the Wikipedia article linked:
"In 1964, William C. Brown demonstrated a miniature helicopter equipped with a combination antenna and rectifier device called a rectenna."
Heh, rectenna sounds like some alien probing device.
-dZ.
Carol vs. Ghost
Tagged: turnoffdisasters.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
It's a power source and a weapon in one! Don't F with us or we'll turn our eco-friendly power beam on you!
I hate being bipolar; it's awesome!
I think I remember seeing a search feature, here on /., _pixels_ ago.
Who's going to be the first to use it? You? Me?
The suspense is terrible.... I hope it lasts.
Yes, since the world ends in 2012 anyway this claim is ridiculous.
I love my sig.
Yeah, the power you got from it was low. Fusion was the way to go!
Arguing with an engineer is like wrestling a pig in the mud. After a while, you realize the engineer enjoys it.
Perhaps we can contract the launch out to North Korea? I hear they've been making some real strides in that area and could use the $$.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
lots of pissed birds, bats, pollen and insects too.
Hell hath no fury like a pollen scorned.
I don't care if it's 90,000 hectares. That lake was not my doing.
You mean 'scorched'.
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Satellite in geostable orbit. Receiving station on equator. Receiving station emits guiding signal to satellite, causing satellite to beam power to earth. If the guiding signal is missing, the satellite stops beaming power and starts using that power to adjust it's position. That's how I'd do it.
That's nice and all, but how about this: If the beam goes off-target, the satellite cranks the output up to full power, obliterating whatever it happens to be pointed at. This will create a bright column of light visible to cameras at the receiving station. Based on which direction this shaft of annihilation is from the station, the ground station transmits instructions to the satellite of which way to adjust the beam, walking it back onto the target and creating a massive swath of destruction in the process.
That's how I'd do it.
I have done research similar to what you are talking about. I have exposed microwaves to a couple of generations of Homo sapiens. The prolonged exposure has been quite detrimental. Test subjects have shown an increase in weight gain, decreased health and several grotesque genetic mutations. Their diet has even changed from mom's home cooking to TV dinners. The population has changed so drastically, I have dubbed the new species Homo laziens.
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Try looking at the energy densities per square millimeter. That 200 MW beam is spread out quite a bit.
Well, spread out a bit until SkyNet get angry, then it's a cannon. At that point we'll see which side sent the governator back in time to authorize this. For all we know, the orbital microwave cannon is the weapon needed to defeat SkyNet early!
Frankly, I find arguemtns that the governator was actually sent back in time by SkyNet exactly as credible as environmentalist concerns that we might hurt one fluffy bunny.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.