this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2023
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Science

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Argh I hate how they never show installation costs upfront...

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 year ago (2 children)

People think the cost of the panel is the most expensive, but it's actually the 151 million km copper cable

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Why can't we just wirelessly transmit the power, maybe have it hit a collection device that can harness about 4 kwh/m^2/day

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Hey that's not a bad idea. We could install these receivers on people's roofs or in big parking lots

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Copper wouldn't cut it, too much resistance. You need a superconductor... only problem is how to keep it cold enough at below 1000C.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

Easy, just cool it with some sort of space refrigerator. Solar powered of course.

Net electricity arrived on earth after cooling cost: 1kwh/day

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

In units of JWSTs

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Build a Dyson Sphere and make $188 septillion/year

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Return on investment in just 37,561 years, start building today!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

If you need that kind of power return on investment Is irrelevant anyway.

Death Star won't power itself you know!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wait, it won't? You're telling me all this time we could've just cut the power cord to Death Star and the Empire would become powerless?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Sorry it's a earlier iteration of the death star self powered one is being developed.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Big oil hates this one weird trick!

How to build a Dyson sphere:

https://youtu.be/pP44EPBMb8A

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Is it true that you can get 4kwh per day per square meter? My average electricity consumption is ~15kwh/day, so if I can potentially offset most of my grid usage with just 4 square meters of solar panel, that seems very attractive. I live in a tropical country btw.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

No, 4kwh is about the daily amount of sun hitting 1 square meter. Solar panels can capture about 20% of that

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Each of my panels has a theoretical capacity of 390 Watts per hour. So 4kwh in a day seems very feasible. My panels are certainly not the cutting edge of technology!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Your 390W is if the sun is in the zenith and hitting your panel at right angle. Also, are you sure your panel is 1m^2?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Fair point about the size of my panels. I think they are larger than 1m^2!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

i would imagine living somewhere tropical might be even better

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Over the past year I'm averaging about 1.1 kwh per day per square meter on my system.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And if you follow, there may be a tomorrow

But if the offer's shunned, you might as well be installing solar panels on the sun

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So don't delay, act now! Supplies are running out

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Allow, if you're still alive

Six to eight years to arrive in low solar orbit