Close



Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 16 of 16
  1. #11
    Super Moderator
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Saskatchewan, Canada
    Posts
    294
    Quote Originally Posted by jimc View Post
    actually solar will not. it cant because even if we were able to make a 100% efficient solar panels there is not enough free space on the surface of the earth to keep the human race powered up 100%
    I think you may be underestimating how much space we have available. You don't need empty land. Toss panels on every roof in the nation, cover the highways with them.

  2. #12
    Super Moderator RobH2's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Baltimore, MD
    Posts
    899
    Add RobH2 on Thingiverse
    I think you my also ignoring the potential for the creation of much more efficient collectors. Just like the first computers like ENIAC were the size of buildings, we now have computers 1000's of times more powerful, in something smaller that a deck of cards. I think the will be a breakthrough in size the will enable solar become significant. It makes no sense to suggest that we won't be able to figure out how to use the most abundant and renewal energy source in the Solar System, the Sun. It may not happen in precisely 15-years but I think it will in my lifetime, and I'm over 50. We'll figure it out.
    Bambu P1S/AMS
    NVision4D http://nvision4d.com

  3. #13
    Engineer
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    new jersey
    Posts
    752
    as i said i am just going from what was explained on a discovery channel special on solar energy. apparently even with 100% efficient panels the human race consumes more power than solar energy hits the earth on land. solar i believe could be a major player but we couldnt be a 100% solar powered planet.

  4. #14
    Super Moderator
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Saskatchewan, Canada
    Posts
    294
    Quote Originally Posted by jimc View Post
    the human race consumes more power than solar energy hits the earth on land.
    No, we're not even close.

    The Earth gets about 2.7 Yottajoules (1024) of energy from the sun annually. 30% of that hits land, so 0.81 Yottajoules on land mass.

    Humanity's total energy usage (electricity, oil, everything) is about 517 Exajoules (1018)

    The former number is about 1600 times greater than the latter.

  5. #15
    Student
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Boulder, Colorado
    Posts
    3
    If humanity wants to live comfortably 300 years from now, solar will be a part, but not all, of that equation. Solar can definitely use a lot more R&D right now, but when it does get to a point that makes it more economic, it will take off. We literally have a giant ball of energy that can be capitalized on, and it is a shame that people put on their political blinders when considering that fact.

  6. #16
    Senior Engineer
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Burnley, UK
    Posts
    1,662
    Quote Originally Posted by Trapist View Post
    If humanity wants to live comfortably 300 years from now, solar will be a part, but not all, of that equation. Solar can definitely use a lot more R&D right now, but when it does get to a point that makes it more economic, it will take off. We literally have a giant ball of energy that can be capitalized on, and it is a shame that people put on their political blinders when considering that fact.
    It won't matter by then anyway because the release of the co2 from fossil fuels will have made the planet how it used to be before the co2 was locked up and humans (as we are now) will not survive.

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •