Asimov’s vision of harvesting solar power from space could become a reality

It’s an idea straight out of science fiction: A space station orbits around Earth, harvesting energy from the sun and beaming it down to our planet. Isaac Asimov popularized the concept in his 1941 story Reason, and futurists have been dreaming about it ever since.

However, it’s not without its problems. One of the biggest issues is with storage, as energy can only be collected during daylight hours, and it needs to be stored in large batteries to provide power during the night. It’s also dependent on good weather, as cloud cover will reduce the amount of energy that can be collected.

To make a power station, we’d need much larger solar panels than those used on spacecraft, and we’d need to design the hardware to handle high voltages. But that should be a matter of incrementally improving on current technologies rather than having to create entirely new solutions. A small, cooperative community The challenges of a futuristic power system aren’t only technological, though. There’s also the problem of infrastructure. Even if we are able to harvest solar energy from space, we need infrastructure on Earth to distribute that power to where it’s needed. Who will bear this cost?

The moon as a steppingstone One promising venue for testing a newly developed power system might surprise you. Rather than sending power from space to Earth, we could test a system by first sending power from space to the moon.By setting up a system to collect solar power in space and transmit it to the moon’s surface, “you can demonstrate practically all the key technologies” for a similar system for sending power to Earth, Summerer said.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Brioni captures 'slow luxury' with Oscar Isaac for spring/summer 2024As awards season marches on, the Italian menswear brand is appointing the American actor as a brand ambassador.
Source: LuxuryDaily - 🏆 325. / 59 Read more »

Videos released of Carol Stream police fatally shooting Isaac Goodlow IIICarol Stream police released a 30-minute video showing the moments officers shot and killed a man while responding to a domestic violence call last February.
Source: fox32news - 🏆 547. / 51 Read more »

Body camera video shows fatal police shooting of Isaac Goodlow IIIBody camera video shows fatal police shooting of Isaac Goodlow III
Source: cbschicago - 🏆 546. / 51 Read more »

Carol Stream police release bodycam video of shooting that killed Isaac GoodlowCarol Stream police have released bodycam video of the shooting that killed Isaac Goodlow at his apartment.
Source: ABC7Chicago - 🏆 284. / 63 Read more »

Relatives Demand Answers in Fatal Shooting of Isaac Goodlow IIIRelatives demand answers and justice in the case of Isaac Goodlow III, who was tased and fatally shot in his own bed. Authorities have yet to provide details on the incident, causing frustration among the family.
Source: nbcchicago - 🏆 545. / 51 Read more »

Isaac Goodlow III: Carol Stream board meeting gets heated after release of body-cam videoThe family of a 30-year-old Carol Stream man plans to protest ahead of a village board meeting Monday night.
Source: fox32news - 🏆 547. / 51 Read more »