"CAcoalminer" (CAcoalminer)
05/08/2014 at 12:52 • Filed to: None
1
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"CAcoalminer" (CAcoalminer)
05/08/2014 at 12:52 • Filed to: None | 1
| 14 |
So I was browsing the internet and came upon this new invention that claims to revolutionize roadways. What do you guys think? Plausible or ridiculous?
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
davedave1111
> CAcoalminer
05/08/2014 at 13:01 |
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It's one of those ideas that's been around for a while without ever really having the technology to make it practical.
From what I understand, thanks to production efficiency improvements, economies of scale, and so-on, solar panels are coming down in price really quite fast. In something like ten years we should (assuming things continue along the same lines) see them becoming cheap enough that they overtake fossil fuels as the cheapest way to generate reasonably large amounts of power for many purposes.
Give it another ten years after that and they'll be cheap enough that people won't be really bothered about efficiency, so putting them under a glass road surface that'll obscure much of the light because it's dirty and scratched won't be the problem it currently is.
Brian Silvestro
> CAcoalminer
05/08/2014 at 13:01 |
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Very interesting and innovative....although the grip the roads give would be different due to tires being designed for asphalt for so long. I wonder how they'll be able to handle that.
Also, you're totally famous, right?
Supercharged-V8-Jag
> CAcoalminer
05/08/2014 at 13:02 |
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Manufacturing facilities in every state in the U.S. and nearly every country in the world?
That should work...
vdub_nut: scooter snob
> CAcoalminer
05/08/2014 at 13:02 |
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THAT GUY WITH THE BOONDOCK SAINTS T SHIRT AND TATOOS
I'm in.
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CAcoalminer
> davedave1111
05/08/2014 at 13:02 |
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Thanks for the information. This is all new to me.
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vdub_nut: scooter snob
> CAcoalminer
05/08/2014 at 13:04 |
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Also, those grippy nubs are going to be loud as shit when you drive on them. And even with heating elements, you'll still need to plow, and I can't see that ending well.
Meatcoma
> CAcoalminer
05/08/2014 at 13:04 |
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ridiculous. road grime, mud, dust etc will vary the effectiveness of every panel.
It's a nice idea but I don't believe they have covered everything yet.
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CAcoalminer
> Supercharged-V8-Jag
05/08/2014 at 13:05 |
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Haha. Yeah I found that to be a bit ridiculous.
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CAcoalminer
> Brian Silvestro
05/08/2014 at 13:07 |
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That's one of the things I was worrying about.
Haha. I wouldn't consider myself famous. Just an old man enjoying life.
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Brian Silvestro
> CAcoalminer
05/08/2014 at 13:08 |
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I don't anyone like yourself considers themselves famous, they just are.
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CAcoalminer
> Brian Silvestro
05/08/2014 at 13:10 |
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Haha. Then maybe so my friend.
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CAcoalminer
> Meatcoma
05/08/2014 at 13:12 |
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No doubt. They still have quite a few things to figure out. Someone has already mentioned that grip levels will be much different than asphalt as well.
Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh
> CAcoalminer
05/08/2014 at 13:15 |
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I'd say not plausible, the wear and tear on the glass would be .. well.. let's just say I see this as a pipe dream (And I'm a left wing "radical". And I'm wondering about any hazardous elements used in the production of said panels (I have no idea how they make them, I'm just wondering).
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davedave1111
> CAcoalminer
05/08/2014 at 13:33 |
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It's interesting stuff. Within twenty or thirty years we could be seeing solar power that's half or a quarter of the price of fossil fuels at their cheapest. Ánd we considered fossil fuels cheap energy.
I'm not sure how much point there'll be in solar roads, though. In urban areas you have lots of rooftops to put panels on, and outside cities you normally have space to put panels anyway. I can see there being some specialised uses, but until the tech gets so cheap that it's no more expensive than paving a road normally is, I can't see it gaining widespread adoption - and even though solar panels are getting cheaper fast, it still looks like an expensive way to lay a road.