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Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system

newyorker.com

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Re: Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system

#441

Post by Retric »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #405
speeder wrote: post #373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They might use rotating wings to fly instead of jet turbines, but yes. EDIT: To make things clearer, the word Missile is quite old, and predates rockets. missile is any object that is propelled somehow to hit a target. So even a stone launched from a sling by a caveman is already a missile. The other guy mentioned precision guided missiles though... and he is still correct in the word usage there.

I don't know, I'd say once you reach a certain amount of control over your flight path you stop being a missile. An aircraft isn't really "projected toward" something.

Cruse missiles have a great deal of control over their flight. “Kamikaze aircraft were pilot-guided explosive missiles, either purpose-built or converted from conventional aircraft.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze

However, the distinction is usually applied where aircraft become missile’s when the attack can no longer be aborted.

Re: Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system

#442

Post by pshirshov »

derektank wrote: post #363
pshirshov wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> maintaining environmental and air quality regulations Yeah, that's the primary concern for the US, right. > There's a reason the rate of GHG emissions are accelerating If you wanted to say that they "produce solar panels with energy from fossils" bring your sources please.

The sarcasm seems unwarranted. The US has better air quality than any other country with over 50 million people and better air quality than the EU on average. Most of the countries above America on the list are either islands directly in the path of tradewinds, largely unpopulated, or the nordics. Now, a lot of this is simply the fact that Americans haven't embraced diesel and that America is a relatively low density…

> The US has better air quality than any other country with over 50 million people and better air quality than the EU on average

And that remarkable achievement was only possible because the US does not produce evil solar panels on its soil, do I understand you right?

Re: Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system

#443

Post by pshirshov »

freeopinion wrote: post #329
pshirshov wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> China produces pretty much all the solar panels Why didn't other countries build up solar industries? Were busy with fossils? Were too greedy to subsidise?

Point the finger at yourself. Why didn't you personally build and operate a plant? Why would you expect different behavior from others?

I did personally build and operate a plant. Literally.

Re: Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system

#444

Post by zitsarethecure »

matwood wrote: post #352
markus_zhang wrote: post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know this thing exists. I need to take a look and maybe buy one when the current one breaks down. What brand did you purchase? Thanks.

I have an LG. They look to cost a premium in the US above heated air one. They also seem to be gentler on clothes since they pump in warm dry air vs. super heated air.

Out of curiosity, is it a "smart" appliance that requires an app to function?

Re: Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system

#445

Post by hnaccount_rng »

marcosdumay wrote: post #416
hnaccount_rng wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was the idea behind Germany’s energy dependence on Russia. Let’s call that experiment not successful, shall we?

The Russian government didn't see it as a Russian dependency on Germany. As far as the dependency direction goes, Germany didn't start a war with Russia, so the simplistic example isn't enough to disprove anything. If you want to disprove it, do so by explaining how Russia was dependent on Europe.

Then go back to the beginning of WW2 and look up the biggest trading partners for both Germany and France

Re: Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system

#446

Post by erghjunk »

agumonkey wrote: post #380
erghjunk wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not going to dispute your over-arching point (because I know the data very well), but as a lifelong resident of Appalachia, I can assure you there has been some real and significant reduction in the negative environmental impact of fossil fuels. It's a small comfort and mostly just for those of us who live here, but it's real and visible.

What kind of changes happened there ? just curious

~25 years ago I could have taken you to multiple entirely dead streams within a 20 minute drive of where I grew up - and you don't get very far in 20 minutes on Appalachian roads. Over large swaths of my home state, in fact, I could have done that from most people's homes. This is no longer the case, and a huge number of streams are now recovered or recovering. The surface water problems are by no means gone, but some of the recoveries that I've witnessed - the North Branch of the Potomac River is a good example - are breathtaking. That river was as dead as a doornail in the 90s and is now a vibrant, healthy wild trout fishery. It is still a post-industrial river, it still has dams, run-off issues, wastewater inputs, etc, but it is a far cry from what it was.

Re: Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system

#447

Post by Dylan16807 »

Retric wrote: post #441
Dylan16807 wrote: post #405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know, I'd say once you reach a certain amount of control over your flight path you stop being a missile. An aircraft isn't really "projected toward" something.

Cruse missiles have a great deal of control over their flight. “Kamikaze aircraft were pilot-guided explosive missiles, either purpose-built or converted from conventional aircraft.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze However, the distinction is usually applied where aircraft become missile’s when the attack can no longer be aborted.

If I look at the number of 90 degree turns a cruise missile can make and compare it to an airplane I wouldn't rate it very highly.

> However, the distinction is usually applied where aircraft become missile’s when the attack can no longer be aborted.

So for a quadcopter that's a pretty negligible amount of time. And not all that much for tiny planes either.

Re: Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system

#448

Post by RHSman2 »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #175

The article doesn't mention a technology that deserves some attention because it counters the biggest and most obvious deficiency in solar: the sun doesn't always shine. That technology is cables. Cables allow us to move energy over long distances. And with HVCD cables that can mean across continents, oceans, time zones, and climate regions. The nice things about cables is that they are currently being underutilized.…

Dude, the sun always shines.

Re: Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system

#449

Post by ethan_smith »

markus_zhang wrote: post #238

I recall that other power plants such as thermal power is still required to provide “inertia” for the whole system, as solar fluctuates a lot. The recent Spain-Portugal outage showed that there is not enough inertia in the system. I don’t really understand inertia in power plants but I wonder if it helps to push nuclear as primary and solar as secondary?

Grid inertia is the rotational kinetic energy in synchronous generators that stabilizes frequency during sudden load changes - modern solutions include grid-forming inverters, synchronous condensers, and virtual inertia systems that can provide this stability without requiring traditional thermal plants.

Re: Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system

#450

Post by Retric »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #447
Retric wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cruse missiles have a great deal of control over their flight. “Kamikaze aircraft were pilot-guided explosive missiles, either purpose-built or converted from conventional aircraft.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze However, the distinction is usually applied where aircraft become missile’s when the attack can no longer be aborted.

If I look at the number of 90 degree turns a cruise missile can make and compare it to an airplane I wouldn't rate it very highly. > However, the distinction is usually applied where aircraft become missile’s when the attack can no longer be aborted. So for a quadcopter that's a pretty negligible amount of time. And not all that much for tiny planes either.

The SM-62 Snark had a 10,000km range so presumably thousands of 90 degree turns were possible. What the actual guidance software could do may have limited it.
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