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Re:Powering Planes with Microwaves Is Not the Craziest Idea by donatj on Monday June 24, 2024 @12:59PM (#40778377)
I have a probably stupid question, but would microwaves like this heat water in the air in any sort of substantial manner? Perhaps with negative climate effects?
Re:Powering Planes with Microwaves Is Not the Craziest Idea by dgacmu on Monday June 24, 2024 @01:04PM (#40778435)
It's not a stupid question. And yes. It'd be fairly localized, but the absorption losses would be somewhat proportional to the amount of water in the air, so, uh, don't do this on a rainy day. But the climate effects are probably minimal -- the energy is getting turned into heat when the aircraft flies anyway to overcome air friction.

It might also accidentally fry low-earth satellites.