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#1831 |
MVP
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Iowa
Casino cash: $9975811
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Posts: 13,873
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#1832 |
Sprinkle in some Mahomes
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Butte Montana
Casino cash: $7658507
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Solar fences and guard rails and billboarads along our highways would make more sense. Repairing the solar panel highways from traffic abuse would be insane. They could use the sides of our roadways more efficiently and even sell lighted programable advertisements and make even more money. Roadways themselves wear out too quickley.
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Posts: 8,271
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#1833 |
"Think BOOM!"
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: 33.675° N 106.475° W
Casino cash: $9139900
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I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you? |
Posts: 185,068
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#1834 |
Ain't no relax!
Join Date: Sep 2005
Casino cash: $998919
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Bacon chemistry...
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Posts: 48,137
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#1835 | |
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Casino cash: $57156239
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Quote:
Sure there may be some hypothetical fringe benefits with solar roads that this video really tries to hype, and they should get kudos for trying to be bold and visionary, but the expense and maintenance is insane. If we want solar panels, we haven't run out of room to put up the cheaper, more efficient kinds, we still have a lot of roofs that can get panels and we're installing more of them every year. Once we get to a point where most roofs that are ever going to be on the grid have panels, and once we get to the point where we don't have any more deserts and sunny desolate areas that are economical for solar farms, if at that point we STILL somehow need more solar power, then solar roads might begin to be something to look at. The creators should continue on with their hobby though. 700 years from now when we may possibly need them, at that point it would be nice if someone was working on refining the solar road design for all those hundreds of years.
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Posts: 36,130
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#1836 |
Supporter
Join Date: Jul 2011
Casino cash: $3321956
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I think the basic premise behind the idea is that the land where roadways lie is being 'wasted'
That being said, I think there are plenty of 'wasted' opportunities to put up solar panels that don't involve as much money to implement and maintain. |
Posts: 10,662
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#1837 |
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Casino cash: $57156239
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yep, there is a crazy-huge amount of roof space and desert that is "wasted" before we should ever think about roads. We may end up having all the solar power we'll ever need before we ever run out of that space.
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Posts: 36,130
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#1838 |
Ain't no relax!
Join Date: Sep 2005
Casino cash: $998919
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Another huge consideration with solar roads that I haven't heard talked about is the cost of implementation required by the construction entities. Current construction companies have incredible amounts of money already committed to the machinery and processes they currently use for traditional road construction. They'd need completely new machinery, technology, and processes for solar. You can't really compare just the materials costs without including the costs of reverting to a completely different/untested application method.
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Posts: 48,137
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#1839 | |
MVP
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Iowa
Casino cash: $9975811
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Quote:
Not to mention the ability to quickly and easily change out bad panels by the square foot rather than relaxing entire roads... |
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Posts: 13,873
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#1840 | |
MVP
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Iowa
Casino cash: $9975811
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Quote:
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Posts: 13,873
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#1841 | |
MVP
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Iowa
Casino cash: $9975811
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Quote:
It's not. It's inefficient. Using this system we simultaneously upgrade our deteriorating road network, our puny communications infrastructure, and most of all, or antiquated, not sure how the hell it still works, inefficient power grid. |
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#1842 | |
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Join Date: Dec 2002
Casino cash: $57156239
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Quote:
There is really no good reason at all for solar roads other than "it sounds cool". Its not going to be a significant enough upgrade over the asphalt roads, assuming its even an upgrade at all, to justify the ridiculous cost. I also really doubt the durability of these glass panels. Asphalt roads are pretty durable, and they take quite a beating from traffic and weather. Those silly glass panels would probably get torn up far quicker. edit: I also object to the silly idea of lighting up the roads. If we did have solar roads, they should not be lit up at all, they should only be gathering energy for our power needs, thats it. I would still want to use reflective paint and signs. Lighting up the road for the road lines is a big waste of electricity and we already have problems with light pollution at night anyway.
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Last edited by alnorth; 05-31-2014 at 03:03 PM.. |
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Posts: 36,130
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#1843 |
Grand champ
Join Date: Sep 2007
Casino cash: $772369
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Personal air conditioning apparatus. You clip some sort of device on your hip and it gives you a personal bubble of climate controlled air.
When can I expect it? |
Posts: 45,154
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#1844 | |
CP's Resident S.E.
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: KCMO
Casino cash: $9562460
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Quote:
You are still going to get the same issues with the roads degrading over time due to the cyclic behavior of the loading patterns. Not to mention the settlement and heave potentials and degradation of the sub-base material. The only upgrade that you have for the roadways (themselves, not counting everything else the solar panels brings) is that the wearing surface is changing. What I am curious of is how much spray would come up from the tires in the rain? Asphalt and concrete (to a lesser extent) allows for the water to pass through it so there is not as much spray from tires during downpours and this allows for safer roads. Will the panels have some sort of seepage at certain intervals? |
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#1845 |
Supporter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Scott City KS
Casino cash: $1004734
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Id be down for one of these....
![]() Scientists Create Shatterproof Phone Screens New Electrode Could Lead to Shatterproof Smartphone Displays (Photo : The University of Akron) A transparent layer of electrodes on a polymer surface could be extraordinarily tough and flexible, withstanding repeated scotch tape peeling and bending tests, providing for a shatterproof smartphone touchscreen. Too many of us are carrying shattered phones because screens we can't afford new screens. However, scientists from the University of Akron may have discovered a solution to save fragile phones their dilapidated doom. Lead researcher Yu Zhu, assistant professor of polymer science at University of Akron, and his team created a transparent electrode that could make phones shatterproof. Zhu and his team found that that a transparent layer of electrodes on a polymer surface helps boost surface toughness and flexibility. Researchers said that latest findings were proven with repeated scotch tape peeling and bending tests. Researchers said the latest study could transform and replace traditional touch screens, which have coatings that are made of brittle indium tin oxide (ITO). Not only are ITOs weaker, they are also more expensive to manufacture. "These two pronounced factors drive the need to substitute ITO with a cost-effective and flexible conductive transparent film," Zhu said in a news release. He noted that the new film will be just as transparent as the traditional ITO, and may even offer greater conductivity. Study data revealed that the novel film retained its shape and functionality after being bent over 1,000 times. Researchers believe that the latest invention could be produced in cheap, mass-quantity rolls. "We expect this film to emerge on the market as a true ITO competitor," Zhu says. "The annoying problem of cracked smart phone screens may be solved once and for all with this flexible touch screen." The findings are published in the journal ACS Nano. |
Posts: 57,558
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