Solar Roadways?
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...and probably also into the truck in the next lane.
One thing I learned quickly after moving to Texas is not to drive next to a car that is about to enter an on-ramp. They will decide at the last minute that they don't really want to go on the freeway and they will change lanes without looking or signaling.
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One thing I learned quickly was never drive next to anyone at all.
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Wouldn't a space rocket be more suitable for that?
'twas an okay movie.
I was hoping for Solaris/Clooney dreamy space fantasy but they had to go Event Horizon after a while which KINDA BROKE THE MOOD.
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'twas an okay movie.
That scene though... Man that was stupid. Looked cool. But damn was it stupid.
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I just saw this:
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@abarker Makes sense that Missouri would pick 66 for a solar project. The Missouri Science and Technology at Rolla has two design teams that are focused on solar. Also Rolla is located right on 66.
Though reading the article the reason they picked it makes even more sense. I just wanted to add in the bit about Rolla.
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What changed in the past 2 years to make solar roadways not a bad idea?
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@LB_ Probably nothing.
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@abarker That would require MoDot to do work. I don't know if that's physically possible.
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@mott555 Are they more or less likely to do work than the mods here?
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How about solar sidewalks / pathways ?
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@loose said in Solar Roadways?:
How about solar sidewalks / pathways ?
They'll be fine. Until the first person slips and falls and sues.
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@dcon Why not an awning over the pathway, with panels on top?
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@theBread Because that's not technochic enough.
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Has anyone done anything to overcome the fundamental problem that roads don't make good solar panels, and solar panels don't make good roads?
Characteristics of a good solar panel:
- Placed up high for maximum unobstructed exposure to the sun.
- Smooth glass surface for minimal optical distortion.
Characteristics of a good roadway:
- Placed down low (frequently in the shade of trees or buildings, and constantly in the shade of vehicles) for maximum vehicular access.
- Rough-textured surface for maximum traction.
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@theBread said in Solar Roadways?:
@dcon Why not an awning over the pathway, with panels on top?
Because that makes economic sense! And puts Solar Roadways out of business.
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@dcon said in Solar Roadways?:
@theBread said in Solar Roadways?:
@dcon Why not an awning over the pathway, with panels on top?
Because that makes economic sense! And puts Solar freakin' Roadways out of business.
FTFY
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@theBread How about we just put the solar panels on the freakin' roof, and if we ever run out of roofs, on the huge empty areas that almost every country has?
Unless you happen to live in Singapore or Hong Kong
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@anonymous234 Don't worry, you won't run out of roof in those places.
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@theBread said in Solar Roadways?:
@dcon Why not an awning over the pathway, with panels on top?
I've seen this several times during my recent vacation in France, at supermarket parking lots.
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@theBread said in Solar Roadways?:
@dcon Why not an awning over the pathway, with panels on top?
@Weng said in Solar Roadways?:
@theBread Because that's not technochic enough.
Also, something like that would provide shade and shade is actually useful. We can't have that. The entire idea of yours makes entirely too much sense for the idiots that think Solar Freakin' Roadways are a good idea.
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@Polygeekery If I remember correctly they recently installed a prototype similar to this as a bikeway in the Netherlands.
From the numbers they published it turned out that they provided about half the energy of equally-sized, properly located solar panels. At ten times the cost.
Plus, they had to cordon off the bikeway due to breakage.
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@Rhywden said in Solar Roadways?:
From the numbers they published it turned out that they provided about half the energy of equally-sized, properly located solar panels. At ten times the cost.
Honestly that's better than I'd expect.
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@blakeyrat said in Solar Roadways?:
@Rhywden said in Solar Roadways?:
From the numbers they published it turned out that they provided about half the energy of equally-sized, properly located solar panels. At ten times the cost.
Honestly that's better than I'd expect.
Yes, but that was for bikes. And it only has the "it provides power" feature from Solar freakin' Roadways!
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@Rhywden Yeah, I got the recap from the EEVBlog on YouTube. He went over all of the numbers in detail there, and even with optimistic numbers, total pie-in-the-sky sort of figures, it was still a stupid idea as compared to conventional solar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obS6TUVSZds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjbKYNcmFUw
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@Polygeekery That never was in doubt - if I am talking to a person believing in this, I always point out that, yes, you can do that. I also point out that it does not make a bit of sense when considering the economics involved, considering that we have plenty of otherwise unused areas which don't have trucks running over them on a regular basis :)
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@Rhywden I started this thread because my intuition was telling me it was probably bullshit, but I was lazy and wanted everybody else to tell me why that was the case.
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@error said in Solar Roadways?:
wanted everybody else to tell me why that was the case.
Watch Dave Jones' videos that I linked above. It will give you more detail than you could ever want. That guy is an electrical engineer, who also has a rooftop solar installation on his home. He knows his shit, despite being an Australian and all.
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@Polygeekery said in Solar Roadways?:
Watch Dave Jones' videos that I linked above. It will give you more detail than you could ever want.
My interest has waned in the past 26 months.
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@Polygeekery I was under the impression he was British, or possibly an Australian in Britain. Because he REALLY likes those giant megafuck electrical plugs nobody but the British think are even moderately necessary.
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@error said in Solar Roadways?:
My interest has waned in the past 26 months.
Goddamn it, you have the attention span of Boo Radley.
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@Weng Nope. Listen to him. No one can sound like a cockhole as much as real Australians.
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@Polygeekery said in Solar Roadways?:
@Weng Nope. Listen to him. No one can sound like a cockhole as much as real Australians.
Yeah, fuck that, I forgot about the Kiwis. But Australia is easily #2.
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@Polygeekery said in Solar Roadways?:
Goddamn it, you have the attention span of Boo Radley.
... is Boo Radley known for having a short attention span?
Given it's been awhile since I read that book, but WHAT?
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@blakeyrat said in Solar Roadways?:
... is Boo Radley known for having a short attention span?
Given it's been awhile since I read that book, but WHAT?
Well, he's, how shall I put? Let me think .... SQUIRREL!
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@Rhywden His thing was just that he was really reclusive and barely ever left his house and the kids thought he was a monster until they say how monstrous the lynch mob was then they realized Boo had the right idea all along.
Also IIRC when Boo does come out and interact with the dad, he's perfectly polite and reasonable.
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@error Let me guess? Blakey is the power bottom in the relationship?
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@Weng said in Solar Roadways?:
he REALLY likes those giant megafuck electrical plugs nobody but the British think are even moderately necessary.
Oh, now you've done it, they're all going to come in here and tell us why they're not stupid, and how if 93.6% of people, including adults, wouldn't constantly stick forks in the outlets, none of this would be necessary.
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@FrostCat said in Solar Roadways?:
wouldn't constantly stick forks in the outlets, none of this would be necessary.
Hey! I didn't use forks, too difficult to adjust the prong position. No, use paperclips! So much more efficient!
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@FrostCat Not to mention that EVERY SINGLE OUTLET needs a switch and EVERY SINGLE PLUG needs a fuse and ring circuits are awesome and if you think otherwise you're literally worse than Hitler.
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@FrostCat Not-reversible plugs? What a pain.
Oh and German sockets are deep, you don't have the whole plug sticking out.Clearly the best design.
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@boomzilla in the UK we have these on almost all busy roads.
http://www.bridgepointroadmarkings.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/cats-eyes-night.jpg
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@lucas1 In non-snowy climates, we tend to have reflectors to mark lanes. But stuff sticking up in the road doesn't work so well when you have to plow the road.
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@boomzilla said in Solar Roadways?:
@lucas1 In non-snowy climates, we tend to have reflectors to mark lanes. But stuff sticking up in the road doesn't work so well when you have to plow the road.
That's why you have reflective poles by the side of the road. Or failing that a Latvian and some silver paint.
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@dkf said in Solar Roadways?:
That's why you have reflective poles by the side of the road.
If you go back to the comment that @lucas1 was replying to, I was complaining about lane markings on a rainy night, especially on a busy multi-lane highway. Yes, we have road markers, too, where they make sense.
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@boomzilla said in Solar Roadways?:
If you go back to the comment that @lucas1 was replying to
That'd seem like work, so no.
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@dkf said in Solar Roadways?:
That's why you have reflective poles by the side of the road.
Around here those go up in October and come down in March, and they're pretty explicitly for helping snowplow drivers know where the road is.
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@boomzilla Isn't that the point of the rumble strips along the side of the road?