this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2024
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[–] gex@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago (5 children)

How would you move the power down to earth?

[–] nymwit@lemm.ee 11 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Microwave transmission is what's usually said, then someone says anything in the beam's path will get zapped, then it's pointed out the energy density isn't that high. Just wanted to shortcut that for ya

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

But what if I want to zap anything in the beam's path?

[–] shottymcb@lemm.ee 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Then a meddlesome British agent will interfere.

[–] Maggoty@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

Well at least I still have my cat.

And my moon laser

[–] InFerNo@lemmy.ml 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)
[–] justawittyusername@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago

We need to make sure we knot it at the joins so it doesn’t get accidentally disconnected.

[–] butterflyattack@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Or just charge up car batteries and drop them.

[–] Cryophilia@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Isn't there already a tesla up there?

Checkmate, Elon haters

[–] CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

How would you move the power down to earth?

Last time I read up on it it was via converting the energy into microwaves and beaming it down.

[–] excitingburp@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I think masers (microwave lasers) are the new theory for achieving this, previously it was beaming microwave down much like your microwave oven beams your food.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 3 points 9 months ago

It’s not that new. Sim City 2000 included a power plant that was just a receiving dish for a maser

[–] cygnosis@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Funny thing is, no matter how you arrange to do that it becomes a de-facto death ray. Stick a terawatt of solar panels in space, use the power to shine a laser/maser down to earth, then build a station to turn the laser power back to electricity? Great, until some hacker figures out how to control where the laser is pointed. Then you get Dr. Evil holding the world for ransom.

[–] Dogyote@slrpnk.net 3 points 9 months ago

Nah it's not really bad at all:

The use of microwave transmission of power has been the most controversial issue in considering any SPS design. At the Earth's surface, a suggested microwave beam would have a maximum intensity at its center, of 23 mW/cm2 (less than 1/4 the solar irradiation constant), and an intensity of less than 1 mW/cm2 outside the rectenna fenceline (the receiver's perimeter). These compare with current United States Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) workplace exposure limits for microwaves, which are 10 mW/cm2,[original research?] - the limit itself being expressed in voluntary terms and ruled unenforceable for Federal OSHA enforcement purposes.[citation needed] A beam of this intensity is therefore at its center, of a similar magnitude to current safe workplace levels, even for long term or indefinite exposure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-based_solar_power?wprov=sfla1