Re:Japan building 1GW, $21bn solar power station in space
by ars on Wednesday September 02, 2009 @02:14PM
(#800775)
> It's an ideal country sized energy suicide weapon though.
You couldn't do anything to a country. You could damage a small area if you concentrated it.
If the capture area is 4km, then anything on the ground larger than 2km x 2km would not even notice you doing anything (since it gets basically that much sun anyway). And with the losses (I estimate only 25% of energy is captured). You can radiate an area 1km x 1km without anyone noticing (which is about a city block).
To do damage you'd have to a go a lot smaller. It would take a very long time to do anything to something even city sized.
You couldn't do anything to a country. You could damage a small area if you concentrated it.
If the capture area is 4km, then anything on the ground larger than 2km x 2km would not even notice you doing anything (since it gets basically that much sun anyway). And with the losses (I estimate only 25% of energy is captured). You can radiate an area 1km x 1km without anyone noticing (which is about a city block).
To do damage you'd have to a go a lot smaller. It would take a very long time to do anything to something even city sized.