If You Need Any Convincing That Solar Roadways Are The Future, This Video Will Help

I know there was a previous thread on this , but I came across this cool video.
Thread from 2010 www.abovetopsecret.com...

The brilliant minds behind Solar Roadways published a video detailing their world-changing project earlier this month, but its language didn’t really grab anyone’s attention.

This new one from creator Scott Brusaw, however, most definitely does not make this mistake.

“Solar FREAKIN’ Roadways!” is filled with passionate excitement and specifically targets young adult minds while explaining the capabilities of this invention, which may seriously be the key to the next stage of human evolution.

All Brusaw’s need is a little cash and we can kiss economic woes, pollution and a whole lot of car accidents goodbye forever.

a reply to: nighthawk1954

Sold me at the Tron comment
Super cool I hope funding gets behind it and city planners take note of the upsides to this.

Solar Freakin Roadways!

I'd have em in my driveway, best idea I've seen in a long time, funny how these good ideas come around, struggle for a few years and then you wonder, where did they go.
This idea makes way to much sense, that I'm surprised the hiway department did actually fund two prototypes

I hope this picks up momentum, it would to awesome to have
SOLAR FREAKIN ROADWAYS!

a reply to: nighthawk1954


I think they are a great idea and no more frikin potholes. The longevity of them is a big seller in my opinion. Where I live it seems like they are always tearing up the roads and rebuilding them it looks as thought those could be simply added on to.

If they get funding to start some parking lots first and it was shown to be successful I believe it would catch on also as with everything there will probably be some kinks to work out which parking lots would be a great test area.

Really a neat concept.. thank you for posting... S&F I do wonder about the surface survivability and heavy trucks ?

a reply to: 727Sky
YES! They have tested the roadways with all kinds of heavy vehicles.

a reply to: nighthawk1954

Love this, came across it the other day and donated on their indiegogo page. Here's their FAQ. I'll post the top two.

What are you going to do about traction? What's going to happen to the surface of the Solar Roadways when it rains>

Everyone naturally pictures sliding out of control on a smooth piece of wet glass! Actually, one of our many technical specs is that it be textured to the point that it provides at least the traction that current asphalt roads offer - even in the rain. We hesitate to even call it glass, as it is far from a traditional window pane, but glass is what it is, so glass is what we must call it.

We sent samples of textured glass to a university civil engineering lab for traction testing. We started off being able to stop a car going 40 mph on a wet surface in the required distance. We designed a more and more aggressive surface pattern until we got a call form the lab one day: we'd torn the boot off of the British Pendulum Testing apparatus! We backed off a little and ended up with a texture that can stop a vehicle going 80 mph in the required distance.

How much weight can these panels support? Semi-trucks get pretty heavy!

Originally, we were designing toward 80,000 pounds. That was supposed to be the maximum legal limit for a semi-truck. However, we live in logging country and a former logging truck driver informed us that they don't have scales in the woods and that he'd topped out at 124,000 pounds. So we decided that we should go for 150,000 pounds. We then learned that oil companies can get permission to move refinery equipment up to 230,000 pounds on frozen roads, so we decided to shoot for 250,000 pounds.

Both 3D Finite Element Method analysis and actual load testing at civil engineering labs showed that our Solar Road Panels can handle that and more.

DoT is funding them for two prototypes currently. This should be the future.

a reply to: Kali74

I am thinking since they got DOT funding that once it is proven as successful that they could also get DOE funding.

I imagine in the end such roadways would drastically reduce spending in our nation.

Just recently here there was a thread that driverless cars got the OK in California so I would think such projects could be combined.

Very nice concept. It's clean, and efficient.

My only concern is that it will be manipulated by the unknown to track people even more efficiently now. Oh, and robots can have an indefinite power source as well.

Sorry, that's just the skeptic in me. I like the idea, and hope it will be used for good instead of evil.

a reply to: eXia7

That is understandable but as far as the tracking goes.....uhm...do you own a cell phone?

a reply to: nighthawk1954

So.. great job of avoiding the biggest problem with Solar Friggin Roadways..

T R A C T I O N !!!!!

Wanna play basketball on it? Slip and kill yourself.
Wanna drive on it? A couple of raindrops and you`re dead!

But hey.. solve the problem of creating a substance with good traction with both rubber and the "not rubberized" future wheels - AND being able to let enough light through. Well, then I`m sold.

And yeah, to the peeps that don`t know what I mean with the "not rubberized" future - look into where rubber comes from - and take a wild guess whats gonna happen to rubber when oil stops flowing or is replaced.

Whoop, there it is!


PS.
I almost forgot.. The next big problem is the HUUUGE cost of building them. It will take 15-25 years of electricity savings before the project is cashflow positive. And that`s a fact!

Sweet idea . Now if we can take our countries back politically from the cabal now working against our best interest I could see this as the future .Its so sensible in so many ways ..S&F op

a reply to: br0ker

So.. great job of avoiding the biggest problem with Solar Friggin Roadways..

T R A C T I O N !!!!!

Wanna play basketball on it? Slip and kill yourself.
Wanna drive on it? A couple of raindrops and you`re dead!

But hey.. solve the problem of creating a substance with good traction with both rubber and the "not rubberized" future wheels - AND being able to let enough light through. Well, then I`m sold.

You didn't read Kalis post before replying did you.

And yeah, to the peeps that don`t know what I mean with the "not rubberized" future - look into where rubber comes from - and take a wild guess whats gonna happen to rubber when oil stops flowing or is replaced.

Whoop, there it is!

Are you aware that roads already need oil? That blacktop is from tar.

a reply to: Grimpachi

I think it will be expensive as hell but that shouldn't not stop this at all and rather than job creation it will probably be more of a job transition, hopefully utilizing the existing pool of road workers though it should also create manufacturing jobs. Cities, I would hope will divest from coal and allocate those funds to this project helping to shoulder the cost and not just dump it on the federal government.

They're also planning to jump onto graphene as soon as that's worked out which will save on the rare earths materials. Now for the politics... fossil fuels giants will be lobbying hard against this. I wouldn't be surprised if it happens in other countries before happening here and I honestly don't care as long as it gets done somewhere to prove it's worth, once that happens it will be a tidal wave.

Those of us that see the value in this and are politically active should bring this to town and city councils. This won't go beyond youtube without us.

a reply to: Kali74

I do think it will be expensive as well however I think those costs can be hugely offset if the roads are proven to have better longevity than our current road system.

That would be one of the biggest sellers IMO. I have seen road projects here that drag on and by the time they are finished they are already doing repairs because they wore out. It seems to me that the way the panels are set up that if a road later needed to be widened they could be added on to or even re-used.

A road system that can last and easily be repaired has some major benefits that may be expensive in the beginning but in the long term would wind up saving fortunes.

a reply to: Grimpachi

Glass will work as long as the weels are rubber.

Indeed asphalt contains oil. Alot more of it in some countries than others. There are alternatives though.

originally posted by: Grimpachi
a reply to: eXia7

That is understandable but as far as the tracking goes.....uhm...do you own a cell phone?

Well but of course, but basically it will be EVEN easier.. say you decide to leave that pesky cellphone at home, then the unknown doesn't know what you're doing.. they can't have that.

a reply to: Grimpachi

however I think those costs can be hugely offset if the roads are proven to have better longevity than our current road system. - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Absolutely. It's just a matter of convincing people of such, you know the type of resistance this is going to meet.

who gives a #, build it if you want it.

a reply to: nighthawk1954

This is the best idea i have seen in a very long time - its a no brainer..