Too right there. We are stargazing… looking for prophecies. No harm in that given our dire energy situation.
The way read it a quantum power plug would be virtual… not a physical plug
Think of how an adult from 500 years ago would react to today’s technology. It would seem beyond belief. … just like how we now react to a possible quantum world
Agreed completely if stargazing, but the original point of the thread as I understand it is discussing the possible impacts of a solar storm in the near future, and possibly what we could do about it TODAY…
To me this means that one needs to look at the technology that we have available to us today… To me that means existing, “on the shelf” hardware that we could deploy today given a decision to do so…
Quantum power, power over fiber, and so on are nice to think about, but until we can metaphorically “order them delivered from Amazon” they are ‘vaporware’ - and you can’t deploy vaporware…
ex-Gooserider
You may be right, but since PoF is an existing technology, perhaps it could lead to related technologies that can handle large power requirements. The alternative would be to abandon global power grid all together, and develop a multitude of very localized systems such as we have with the home-based solar systems we have today. These systems can be scaled, so companies and factories can populate their rooftops with solar panels to generate the power they need. If we’re going to transmit power over copper lines as we do today, we;ll need to find a way to shield them from electromagnetic/geomagnetic events. I suspect that this may be easier/more efficient with localized solar power generating systems than attempting to do the same for the global power grid.
Ernie
Indeed, but quantum technologies appear to be very promising too!
Ernie
I think you missed the point of this thread, it’s a mental exercise. If we come up with real world, workable solutions - GREAT! On the other hand, all I was trying to do was to better understand the issues we’re facing, and any possible solutions. I’d hate to miss something really exciting/workable by limiting the scope of this discussion. When I mention these technologies, I’m considering the possibilities they represent. If they don’t work out, at least we’ve learned about something that doesn’t work. so we can move on to studying other things that might.
For example, do we have a way of hardening the global power grid against geomagnetic storms? If so, how does it work? Any ideas?
Ernie
surprising discovery while testing sheep grazing alongside solar panels
Specially for Neville
Shade helps reduce evaporation of moisture.
On our place, the grass is always greener under she-oak trees than out in the open .
So I guess solar panels shading grass would help in the same way.
Fleeces suffer from photodegredation … fibres become yellow and brittle from UV light. So the wool quality may improve with more shade.
I wonder about sheep damaging panels… they rub on things… wore the paint off my landrover… turn taps on… dismantle the stay wire on a power pole… they would rub the galvanising off the metal frames.
May be a good idea , but it needs thought and planning.