A parody of thunderf00t's rebuttal.
the problem here is not the "impossible in the future"... the problem is their claim to make with today's technology ! and the fact they're ignoring/deleting all the relevant questions.
if someone asks for grant to do some "weird looking" research which will possibly result in some new technology in the future - that's just ok.. (if there are excess funds to support that kind of research).
but if someone claims that he developed something and he needs funding for production - and actually his "invention" can't work with current technology.. then that's a big problem !
apparently the author of the video overseen the facts around the "solar roadways" and their "inventors".
Thing is, "possible with future tech" simply doesn't matter in this case, as even if some material becomes available that makes these solar roadway panels technologically feasible, they still won't be economically viable!
This is because fundamental physics isn't going to change "in the future" and it will still be cheaper, and provide a large return on your investment, to just put normal solar panels on roofs / in fields & deserts etc!
For example, public supersonic air transport was made technologically possible in the mid 1970's (that's 40 years ago), and since then, aircraft technology has taken a quantum leap forwards, and yet, where are all the supersonic airliners today? yup, there aren't any. This is nothing to do with the absence or presence of technology,a and everything to do with practical economics!
IN 2050, putting solar panels under roads will still be a really silly idea, when for the same financial outlay, you could put probably 10x as many panels in a field next to the road, and those panels would probably return something like 3x as much energy (because they can be heliostatic and not have to be protected from vehicle traffic). That means you get 30x as much energy back for your cash (10x more panels, each being 3x more efficient), and chances are, they would be significantly cheaper to maintain etc (further improving your ROI)
So, if i said today, give me $100, and i'll give you $30, you would say. er, "no thanks" and if i ask the same question in 2050 (when we will all have flying cars, and robots and stuff?. Well, you would still answer "no thanks"!
Fundamentally, this is why pure engineering in itself is no indicator of the viability of any given project. (Betamax VCR anyone?)
A parody of thunderf00t's rebuttal.
Seems to me it's root cause is "It's to big to be a lie" kind of thing. People keep abstracting in all directions because of this.
But, I have a question. They say tempered glass is not harder than normal glass, but I've read that tempered glass is hardness of 7 - that's very hard. BUT if the glass they're supposed to be using is 5.5, then... Anyway, is there such glass (7), and would it make things better in regards to glass DUST ?
That and the solar panel's themselves seems to me like the most serious issues.
This is because fundamental physics isn't going to change "in the future" and it will still be cheaper, and provide a large return on your investment, to just put normal solar panels on roofs / in fields & deserts etc!
A parody of thunderf00t's rebuttal.
Wow, and that guys is supposed to be running a "skeptical science" channel
They're looking to hire every kind of engineer except electronic / electrical
They're looking to hire every kind of engineer except electronic / electrical
##Triples: Three 28.5 ft (8.7 m) trailers; maximum weight up to 129,000 lb (59,000 kg).
##Turnpike Doubles: Two 48 ft (14.6 m) trailers; maximum weight up to 147,000 lb (67,000 kg)
##Rocky Mountain Doubles: One 40-to-53 ft (12.2-to-16.2 m) trailer (though usually no more than 48 ft/14.6 m) and one 28.5 ft (8.7 m) trailer (known as a "pup"); maximum weight up to 129,000 lb (59,000 kg)
##In Canada, a Turnpike Double is two 53 ft (16.2 m) trailers, and a Rocky Mountain Double is a 50 ft (15.2 m) trailer with a 24 ft (7.3 m) "pup".
Future LCV's under consideration and study for the U.S. MAP-21 transportation bill are container doubles. These combinations are under study for potential recommendation in November 2014:
##40 ft (12 m) trailer Turnpike Doubles, 148,000 lb (67,000 kg) GVWR
##40/20-ft (12/6 m) trailer Rocky Mountain Doubles, 134,000 lb (61,000 kg) GVWR
##Double 20 ft (6.1 m) trailer Doubles, 120,000 lb (54,000 kg) GVWR
Regulations on LCVs vary widely from one state or province to another. None allows more than three trailers without a special permit. Reasons for limiting the legal trailer configurations include both safety concerns and the impracticality of designing and constructing roads that can accommodate the larger wheelbase of these vehicles and the larger minimum turning radii associated with them.
Most states restrict operation of larger tandem trailer setups such as triple units, "turnpike doubles" and "Rocky-Mountain doubles". In general, these configurations are restricted to turnpikes. Except for these units, tandem setups are not restricted to certain roads any more than a single setup. They are also not restricted by weather conditions or "difficulty of operation". The Canadian province of Ontario, however, does have weather-related operating restrictions for larger tandem trailer setups.
In the United States, 80,000 lb (36,000 kg) is the maximum allowable legal gross vehicle weight without a permit.
The axle-weight breakdown is:[2]
##20,000 lb (9,072 kg) maximum on a single axle
##34,000 lb (15,422 kg) maximum on the tandem axles
i'm very sorry for the citizens of US if their government will keep supporting those "solar" roadways.
i'm very sorry for the citizens of US if their government will keep supporting those "solar" roadways.
Gov't can always hike the taxes so that 1kWH will cost like say $2.
All insanely expensive ideas will start to look different.
Then you get trucks like this:
This weighs 45 Tons without any load on it and it can haul up to 75 Tons total. It probably isn't road legal but I suppose on occasion it has to cross the road or at least be towed somewhere.
I think I recall that this particular truck frame can be special ordered to support 250 Tons.
Hey! They're hiring! http://www.solarroadways.com/jobs.shtml
This pic was taken from our ski resort: Schweitzer Mountain Resort.
Also in 2007, Schweitzer Mountain Land & Timber Company, the real estate arm of Schweitzer Mountain Resort, released 35 new ski-in/ski-out lots, approved for 1-4 units per lot, for sale in the Trapper's Creek-1 subdivision. By winter of 2007-08, heated roads, ... were installed.
A parody of thunderf00t's rebuttal.
btw... one serious question... how is the glass tile supported ? is all pressure going to the 4 bolts ? or is the glass pressing against the solar panels and the PCBs beneath ? this might be an extremely serious issue.
btw... one serious question... how is the glass tile supported ? is all pressure going to the 4 bolts ? or is the glass pressing against the solar panels and the PCBs beneath ? this might be an extremely serious issue.It's implied from the video showing the panels and installation concrete base that the 4 bolts are the only support.
Not entirely clear though, as although the the whole of their website is filled substantial amounts of text, it contains no real information at all.
Most of it is feeble excuses as to why they don't have any testing data or haven't done any of the things any reasonable person would have already done.
Their FAQ page is particularly revealing of their whole attitude - mostly political style non-answers, and the few bits of information in there show a total lack of understanding.
They claim that 'Most roads with high speed vehicles keep themselves pretty clean' - a quick glance at any road anywhere proves otherwise.
Road damage and repairs - 'The panel could be swapped out and reprogrammed in a few minutes' - not true, as a substantial part of road repairs is closing off the lane(s) so that it is safe to do the repairs, something which will still have to be done even if the panel replacement did take only 5 minutes.
There is a section about lightning not striking the ground or their glass panels because 'glass is an insulator', black marks from tyres is answered by scuffing a shoe on one of the panels once, and for energy storage, flywheels were mentioned. Flywheels.
I read a whole book once in which flywheels were used as viable energy sources for motorcycles and other vehicles. However it was a sci-fi novel and therefore as far away from reality as you can get.