Solar roads.... I guess they figured out which glass to use...

[travisw]

just dont expect me to pay for it.

You only make $10 an hour, who would expect you to?

 

[Dr Kynes]

You only make $10 an hour, who would expect you to?

eloquent as ever, you make a compelling case for this boondoggle.

 

[Ceepea]

this notion (calling it an Idea is a stretch) is simply unfeasible.

if you want to use this notion, go for it, just dont expect me to pay for it.

also, dont expect the eco-lobby or the unions to get behind it either.

I'm saying it's potentially a great idea. It could provide power, and depending on durability, be less costly than asphalt.

The product needs substantially more testing, never said it didn't, but the concept is good, and the people behind it have their heads in the right place.

 

[Dr Kynes]

I'm saying it's potentially a great idea. It could provide power, and depending on durability, be less costly than asphalt.

The product needs substantially more testing, never said it didn't, but the concept is good, and the people behind it have their heads in the right place.

crumb rubber road surfaces are also a great idea, and they are cost effective, use recycled old tyres (which are a constant problem in the US) and reduce maintenance costs of road surfaces by 50% or more, yet the unions and the ecoloons reject the idea.

go figure.

 

[NoDrama]

I can see the plow trucks ripping these glass roads up every time it blizzards. Heated shmeated, when it is dropping 2 feet of snow per 12 hours and blowing 40 MPH with wind chills at 50 below, there is no heating element that could keep up. plus the fact that the northern states see little sunshine during their 6 month winters.

What happens when a water main breaks? Rip up that beautiful expensive glass road?

 

[NoDrama]

No offense bro but you sound like the same kind of person that thinks the fossil fuel problem is solved by ethanol....
Not saying it is not innovative and new (pretty sure I saw this on yahoo like a year ago) but the tech just might not be at that level yet to mass produce at a resonable cost as most new tech in its infancy is always expensive until they find ways to manufacture it better.

Ethanol is good, but trying to make it from corn is stupid, but it pays the bills and then some. Thanks taxpayers.

 

[Ceepea]

I can see the plow trucks ripping these glass roads up every time it blizzards. Heated shmeated, when it is dropping 2 feet of snow per 12 hours and blowing 40 MPH with wind chills at 50 below, there is no heating element that could keep up. plus the fact that the northern states see little sunshine during their 6 month winters.

What happens when a water main breaks? Rip up that beautiful expensive glass road?

Probably don't want them in areas with heavy snowfall.... or make them heated and get plows to raise their blades.

Ethanol is good, but trying to make it from corn is stupid, but it pays the bills and then some. Thanks taxpayers.

You need 50% more ethanol than gasoline to get the same energy content. It's not that good.

 

[Dr Kynes]

You need 50% more ethanol than gasoline to get the same energy content. It's not that good.

the same THERMAL energy content.

in an internal combustion engine, it's expansion that gives the power, and ethanol expands pretty good, nearly as well as gasoline when ignited under compression.

but Methanol is better.

 

[Padawanbater2]

 

[Ceepea]

So, they remove the need for plows altogether, remove the need for painting lanes, remove the need for power lines/utility poles, are easily replaceable, pay for themselves over time, and treat water to reduce pollution.

Not to mention if 1/3 of the roads in the US were solar roads, there would be no need for power plants.

 

[Dr Kynes]

So, they remove the need for plows altogether, remove the need for painting lanes, remove the need for power lines/utility poles, are easily replaceable, pay for themselves over time, and treat water to reduce pollution.

Not to mention if 1/3 of the roads in the US were solar roads, there would be no need for power plants.

provided the sun never sets or we all turn off the lights when it gets dark or cloudy.

 

[Dr Kynes]

another sober, well thought out, highly logical argument in favour of an unproven hypothetical technology with zero exaggeration...

cuz today is opposite day.

 

[Ceepea]

provided the sun never sets or we all turn off the lights when it gets dark or cloudy.

Or we completely forget about all energy storage facilities. Molten sodium and graphene come to mind.... off the top of my head.

 

[Dr Kynes]

Or we completely forget about all energy storage facilities. Molten sodium and graphene come to mind.... off the top of my head.

so now we need huge batteries to hold the juice till it's needed...

that wont be expensive at all.

 

[Ceepea]

so now we need huge batteries to hold the juice till it's needed...

that wont be expensive at all.

Giant tanks of molten sodium work. They're in use right now. Graphene is made out of carbon, the 6th most abundant element in the universe. The tech is making leaps and bounds, and cost is falling substantially. Using ideas like solar roads in conjunction with the now 80% efficient solar panels devised by IBM, could mitigate our dependence on non-renewable energy.

 

[Dr Kynes]

Giant tanks of molten sodium work. They're in use right now. Graphene is made out of carbon, the 6th most abundant element in the universe. The tech is making leaps and bounds, and cost is falling substantially. Using ideas like solar roads in conjunction with the now 80% efficient solar panels devised by IBM, could mitigate our dependence on non-renewable energy.

i know what graphene is.

the proposition that huge molten graphene or sodium batteries can store power from solar roads without the need for other power plants is patently absurd.

the abundance of carbon is not the limiting factor, it's the "Molten Graphene" batteries that are the expensive part.

silica is pretty common too, but that doesnt make the glass solar panels cheap.

somebody stiull has to dig it up, smelt it into glass, and manufacture the pretty little hexagons, and all that costs money, even if sand is super cheap.

 

[Ceepea]

i know what graphene is.

the proposition that huge molten graphene or sodium batteries can store power from solar roads without the need for other power plants is patently absurd.

Using solar power isn't absurd, neither is storing the energy as heat for use at off-peak hours. It's already being done, it already exists. How absurd is that?

the abundance of carbon is not the limiting factor, it's the "Molten Graphene" batteries that are the expensive part.

Molten sodium, not molten graphene.

silica is pretty common too, but that doesnt make the glass solar panels cheap.

somebody stiull has to dig it up, smelt it into glass, and manufacture the pretty little hexagons, and all that costs money, even if sand is super cheap.

900kW per panel. Not bad.