Solar energy in the sky
What could be more exciting or futuristic than a huge solar panel, floating on a platform above the planet, shining a wireless electric light on the surface of the earth? This option has many advantages: it is not necessary to have real land in the world and there is no power change caused by weather conditions. That said, Green Mountain Energy there is still a lot to do with other types of electricity. Atmospheric emissions, long-term radiation exposure, meteor coverage, and the cost of putting equipment into orbit are just a few of the stumbling blocks. In practice, a solar power project can work like this:
- A large geostationary array will collect and concentrate sunlight.
- Photovoltaic cells will convert this light into electricity. This electricity will be used to operate a microwave laser, aimed at space stations on Earth.
- The microwave energy will be received by the antenna array and converted back into electricity.
Solar wind
The solar wind is a large number of solar chargers that are discharged at high speed. In principle, these things can generate electricity by using a large solar boat and a charged wire, which generates energy from the solar wind passing through it. According to preliminary research by the University of Washington, there’s no limit to how much power you can generate, only to how much power you can transport.
Three hundred meters of copper wire, placed in a two-meter-wide receiver and a 10-meter vessel, can generate enough electricity for 1,000 homes. A satellite with a cable of 1,000 meters and a ship width of 8,400 km can generate billions of gigawatts of electricity.
It’s good to know that it’s not as far off as you might think. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency successfully launched IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation of the Sun) in 2010, becoming the first aircraft to use a solar kite as its propulsion model. Their research continues to provide scientists with valuable data in many important areas. That said, IKAROS is smaller than the ships discussed, so don’t hold your breath that solar wind will be a viable option in the future.
In 2019, the Planetary Society launched LightSail 2 as the second payload on one of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rockets. LightSail 2 successfully launched its fleet, although its overall success was limited. In the words of The Planetary Society, “About a third of the time, we [LightSail 2] are in ‘detumble’ mode, reducing the speed of the wheel and allowing our obstacles to reduce the power of the system body.”
From nowhere
The sacred element of energy and electricity is created from soap, creating unlimited, inexhaustible energy. A research team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst believes they have developed a device that uses natural proteins to generate electricity from water in the air.
“Air-gen” uses tiny nanowires made from proteins that conduct electricity. The research team connects the nanowires to a generator, which produces electricity from water and moisture in the air.
As of this writing, the project remains on a small scale. But the ultimate goal is to move to full power production.
Renewable energy sources will save the world
Some of the power sources we looked at here are awesome, but many can have useful applications down the line. Others are already around us, giving us extra energy in our daily life.
