Science Limitless electromagnetic energy ?

[T.Neo]

I think the sun will go boom a lot earlier than the moon deorbits...

You got the "go boom earlier" bit right, but not the "deorbits" bit right. The Moon is actually moving away from the Earth.

 

[thripd]

with the moon and earth tethered together it wouldn't....

Would using the moon to gradually slow the spin of the earth (and generate power on the way :lol cause the earth's orbit to expand? Y'all know I'm no astrophysicist, but I think something that spins faster will curve more (Bend It like some footballer) Moving our planet a bit further away from the expanding sun might be a good idea.

 

[Urwumpe]

with the moon and earth tethered together it wouldn't....

Would using the moon to gradually slow the spin of the earth (and generate power on the way :lol cause the earth's orbit to expand?

No, Earth and moon move around their common barycenter, for solar orbit calculations, Earth and Moon appear as one mass inside this barycenter.

If you would tether the moon, stop its motion around Earth and then lower it even further away from Earth towards the sun, you could raise the orbit of Earth. The problem is just that Earths gravity is pretty disturbing in that action.

 

[johan]

Actually Dyson proposed a swarm of orbiting satellites, or an array of non-orbiting statites suspended by radiation pressure. A solid sphere is really little more than science fiction.

The nice thing about a swarm of independent satellites is that you can build the system one sat at a time, and it will start producing useful energy from the first sat you add. I don't quite see how you'll get the energy from this system to earth though... I suppose if you had some collector in earth orbit, and you could shoot a very accurate microwave beam from each collector sat to the collector in earth orbit, then beam it down to earth-based stations from there... you'd need some sophisticated planning software as well as energy storage space to stop the microwave beams hitting other satellites, or the sun / moon, GPS satellites etc... I guess it would be best to have your earth-orbiting collector sat in geostationary orbit above your "power plant"... what happens if the beam misses?

"whoops, we just evaporated all the water from the gulf of mexico, watch out for the tsunami as it refills rapidly... heavy precipitation predicted for the next month all over the planet as a result."

 

[T.Neo]

Yeah, that's another advantage of a swarm of satellites, rather than an implausible solid sphere. I think any power collection system around the Sun will be build to meet demand, rather than as a massive monolithic project. It is not like humanity decided at once to start mining oil all over the planet, after all. The network will probably consist of all sorts of collectors and beaming stations, of which things like geostationary solar power satellites would be a part.

Power transfer beams hitting stuff accidentally is indeed a problem, and perhaps one that could be solved via the use of a very powerful, error-corrected, hacker-proofed computer system, as well as more simple safeguards (such as restricting the focus of the beam to non-damaging levels, although this does not avoid damage to closer targets). The potential for damage in the event of an accident or weaponisation is terrifying.

 

[Deltafang]

Power transfer beams hitting stuff accidentally is indeed a problem, and perhaps one that could be solved via the use of a very powerful, error-corrected, hacker-proofed computer system, as well as more simple safeguards (such as restricting the focus of the beam to non-damaging levels, although this does not avoid damage to closer targets). The potential for damage in the event of an accident or weaponisation is terrifying.

Sounds like the plot of the upcoming 360/PS3 game "Vanquish". According to the game though, by the time we've become capable of building such an advance power collection satellite, humanity numbers 100 billion. :lol:

 

[Urwumpe]

In the BattleTech universe, fusion power is transported from planets to space stations by microwave beams... and used as space defense DEWs.

 

[jedidia]

fusion power is transported from planets to space stations by microwave beams...

Somehow I sense a significant reduction in bird population if this is ever going to be realised on a big scale...

 

[Hielor]

Somehow I sense a significant reduction in bird population if this is ever going to be realised on a big scale...

And a significant increase in the availability of cooked poultry products for human consumption?

 

[jedidia]

As long as there are still birds left, yes! :lol:

 

[T.Neo]

In the BattleTech universe, fusion power is transported from planets to space stations by microwave beams... and used as space defense DEWs.

Doesn't make a lot of sense, other than from a defence point of view. Space stations can carry their own fission reactors or solar power plants...

Somehow I sense a significant reduction in bird population if this is ever going to be realised on a big scale...

That depends on the intensity of the beam. AFAIK the microwave beam would have been more-or-less safe for animals and plants, with passengers of aircraft shielded by the metal hull.

I've even heard about crops being grown under an SPS rectenna...