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Japan Wants To Turn The Moon Into A Giant Power Plant
Shimizu Corporation, a Japanese architecture and engineering firm, has a plan to effectively turn the moon into a giant solar power plant, reports Inhabitat.
It proposes building a massive collection of solar panels (a "Luna Ring") 6,800 miles long by 12 miles wide on the moon's surface. That's certainly a heavy-duty construction job for human beings, so Shimizu plans to get the work done with robots, only involving humans in supervisory roles.
Once complete, this hypothetical plant could continuously send energy to "receiving stations" around the globe by way of lasers and microwave transmission. This idea gets around two major hurdles for solar power, as there is no weather or darkness to curb electricity production on the moon. If operating in ship-shape, Shimizu says it could continuously send 13,000 terawatts of power back to Earth. By comparison, the total installed electricity generation summer capacity in the United States was 1,050.9 gigawatts.
It's big thinking that we're skeptical will ever see fruition, but we like where Shimizu's coming from. It believes that "virtually inexhaustible, non-polluting solar energy is the ultimate source of green energy that brings prosperity to nature as well as our lives. Shimizu Corporation proposes the Luna Ring for the infinite coexistence of mankind and the Earth."
"Shimizu Corporation proposes the Luna Ring for the infinite coexistence of mankind and the Earth."
proteus33
reply to post by Clairaudience
laser transmission my work but wouldn't microwaves be stopped by earths natural defenses or is moon inside of them van allen belts ozone layer , earths magenetic field and such
Helious
After Fukushima, it seems like the moon is an all around safer place than Japan.
Blowback
"Shimizu Corporation proposes the Luna Ring for the infinite coexistence of mankind and the Earth."
Once more the Japanese Empire will rule the galaxy and we shall have peace ...
edit on 5-12-2013 by Blowback because: (no reason given)
proteus33
reply to post by Clairaudience
laser transmission my work but wouldn't microwaves be stopped by earths natural defenses or is moon inside of them van allen belts ozone layer , earths magenetic field and such
Helious
After Fukushima, it seems like the moon is an all around safer place than Japan.
grey580
Somehow I don't feel safe knowing that I could be crispy crittered via giat terrawatt microwaves from the moon..
or freakin lazerz.
sure nothing could go wrong. right?
The common reaction to microwave transmission is one of concern, as microwaves are generally perceived by the public as dangerous forms of radiation - stemming from the fact that they are used in microwave ovens. While high power microwaves can be painful and dangerous as in the United States Military's Active Denial System, MPT systems are generally proposed to have only low intensity at the rectenna.
Though this would be extremely safe as the power levels would be about equal to the leakage from a microwave oven, and only slightly more than a cell phone, the relatively diffuse microwave beam necessitates a large receiving antenna area for a significant amount of energy to be transmitted.
Research has involved exposing multiple generations of animals to microwave radiation of this or higher intensity, and no health issues have been found.
proteus33
reply to post by Clairaudience
laser transmission my work but wouldn't microwaves be stopped by earths natural defenses or is moon inside of them van allen belts ozone layer , earths magenetic field and such