Solar power is the future. We know this because the Japanese Space Agency is building a network of solar laser satellites to power their country, and if building solar laser satellites isn’t the future then nothing is.
The scheme is based on a common premise: solar power is free. In space it’s even easier to obtain, provided one can launch a satellite. Now, think of a satellite, you probably pictured a box with two great big solar panels sticking out of the sides. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is taking this solar theory to the next level, designing a system which will harvest this energy for terrestrial applications.
The key to the project is a new material, neodynium-chromium, which can convert solar radiation into a laser beam which can then be collected on the ground at designated solar sites. The chromium absorbs the radiation from the sun and can pass that energy on to the laser-generating part of the equation. Neodynium is used in existing laser systems, but in this application the energy is supplied from the chromium compound.
Solar power as an idea has been around for decades, but it’s only with recent improvements in material science has the efficiency increased enough to become practical – and these advances make all solar applications more efficient. Some applications are destined for use in space, others are tuned for low-volume personal use, and in the middle you have the building scale projects which benefit from advances at both extremes.
A small-scale test of the neodynium-chromium system has already generated 180 watts of laser from solar power, with ambitious plans to scale this up to a full gigawatt in the final product, enough for each solar satellite to replace a conventional nuclear power plant. In a double-whammy of environmental friendliness, the collection stations on the ground can either use the energy immediately, or “store” it by using the radiation to split water for hydrogen fuel.
The scientists have not commented on whether they’ll use the eco-laser to enforce green practices on other countries. We recommend adopting solar power before they force the issue.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Why has the United States not published what
Japan is doing on “Super Solar Space Satellite”
Would appreciate a reply !!!!!