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Tapping Solar Wind's Renewable Energy

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the hope-that-works-out-for-ya dept.

A few folks noted a story making the rounds about the huge energy potential just blowing past the planet in the form of solar wind. This research involves putting a satellite into orbit with a thousand-meter cable and a 5,000-mile sail to generate more power than the earth currently uses.

3 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Hmm. by maxume · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just boil the Atlantic and harvest energy from the larger, more predictable hurricanes.

    --
    Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
  2. Bizarre number choice by wonkavader · · Score: 3, Interesting

    OK, if we put up a rectangle 8,000 kilometers by 8,000 kilometers, it'll produce 100,000,000,000,000 times the energy we need.

    WHY DON'T THEY SUGGEST A 1 KILOMETER BY 1 KILOMETER SAIL?

    What's going on here? Did the guys being interviewed say something reasonable, and then also abstract it to a high number for the reporter, and the reporter only decided to write up the insane, absurd, bizarrely huge number? Or were the guys being interviewed just nuts?

  3. ISS by geekoid · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Why don't they test this by powering the ISS?

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