Good analogy.IgnoranceIsBliss wrote:Sounds like we are arguing over whether to get Chinese food or Mexican tonight, when none of us has any money in our wallets.
yesplease wrote:All of that is already addressed in the site's FAQ or in a paper I linked earlier. The properties of glass don't seem to be the issue. The application seems to be where the idea will make it or break it since that is pretty new territory.
fletch_961 wrote:yesplease wrote:All of that is already addressed in the site's FAQ or in a paper I linked earlier. The properties of glass don't seem to be the issue. The application seems to be where the idea will make it or break it since that is pretty new territory.
While I don't doubt the possibility of making a glass material that can fit the bill for road worthiness, the question is why bother? And at what cost?
Asphalt is made from local aggregate quarried from a gravel pit. This glass material will have to be engineered to exacting specifications. Any old sand won't do.
If they can make solar panels that can withstand 80k pounds of pressure with 15% efficiency that are 12 x 12 ft all for the low price of $7k then why don't me and you just slap them up on our roofs. That way we don't have to worry about Pstarr's Gremlin X breaking down on the freeway and causing a traffic jam that blocks the Sun from our power supply just as we are about to read one of his awe inspiring posts.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
Read the paper I linked earlier.dorlomin wrote:The FAQ is vague and fluffy. Not sure why you dont think the properties glass an issueyesplease wrote:All of that is already addressed in the site's FAQ or in a paper I linked earlier. The properties of glass don't seem to be the issue. The application seems to be where the idea will make it or break it since that is pretty new territory.
Professor Membrane wrote: Not now son, I'm making ... TOAST!
It seems to me that aside from putting solar panels underneath it (more surface area than roofs?), the advantage is easier repairs/access and easier incorporation of transmission (data/power). This has been proposed for asphalt too, so it isn't anything particularly novel, but if for whatever reason it's easier with glass, which appears possible, then it might (It might not too, so far it's just an interesting proposal) have an advantage over asphalt for roads in terms of cost.fletch_961 wrote:While I don't doubt the possibility of making a glass material that can fit the bill for road worthiness, the question is why bother? And at what cost?
Asphalt is made from local aggregate quarried from a gravel pit. This glass material will have to be engineered to exacting specifications. Any old sand won't do.
If they can make solar panels that can withstand 80k pounds of pressure with 15% efficiency that are 12 x 12 ft all for the low price of $7k then why don't me and you just slap them up on our roofs.
I don't think traffic jams block enough sun on average to block any more sun than obstructions in people's backyards do, and if they do, then we just don't put the panels there (parking spaces).fletch_961 wrote:That way we don't have to worry about Pstarr's Gremlin X breaking down on the freeway and causing a traffic jam that blocks the Sun from our power supply just as we are about to read one of his awe inspiring posts.
Professor Membrane wrote: Not now son, I'm making ... TOAST!
yesplease wrote:]Read the paper I linked earlier.
Professor Membrane wrote: Not now son, I'm making ... TOAST!
It seems to me that aside from putting solar panels underneath it (more surface area than roofs?), the advantage is easier repairs/access and easier incorporation of transmission (data/power). This has been proposed for asphalt too, so it isn't anything particularly novel, but if for whatever reason it's easier with glass, which appears possible, then it might (It might not too, so far it's just an interesting proposal) have an advantage over asphalt for roads in terms of cost.
Professor Membrane wrote: Not now son, I'm making ... TOAST!
pstarr wrote:Let try the math again.
assume:
$1,000/pv killowatt
10 sq. ft/pv killowatt
65 killowatts/ electric car
car: 10 ft. long
Therefore:
650 sq.ft pv/ 10 ft./electric car
$65,000/ electric car/10 ft.
Assume: 10 cars on road.
Therefore:
$650,000 / 10 electric cars/10 ft.
6500 sq.ft pv/ 10 ft./10 electric cars at any given moment
Each mile would require $650,000*528=$343 million for the pv panels. Then there is the extra cost of the road surface to handle all the panels (343,200 extra sq. foot of roadage)
Sounds doable
pstarr wrote:SeaGypsy wrote:pstarr wrote:Let try the math again.
assume:
$1,000/pv killowatt
10 sq. ft/pv killowatt
65 killowatts/ electric car
car: 10 ft. long
Therefore:
650 sq.ft pv/ 10 ft./electric car
$65,000/ electric car/10 ft.
Assume: 10 cars on road.
Therefore:
$650,000 / 10 electric cars/10 ft.
6500 sq.ft pv/ 10 ft./10 electric cars at any given moment
Each mile would require $650,000*528=$343 million for the pv panels. Then there is the extra cost of the road surface to handle all the panels (343,200 extra sq. foot of roadage)
Sounds doable
Please post a link for the 10ft 1kw panels! I want 10 for my boat so it doesn't need sails. Thanks!
Yer right matey.
More like 50 sq. ft/1 kw innit? So 39 acres of panels per mile of road. Wide load welcome here
You need a link w/ the cost of the glass equivalent to determine whether or not it's worthwhile. As for transmission, that depends on the lines. There are certainly scuffles over imminent domain and buying up land for new transmission isn't exactly cheap even w/o the NIMBY blowback, but for existing lines it isn't an issue, except maybe from the POV of maintenance.fletch_961 wrote:I just posted a link w/ asphalt and concrete costs. I doesn't cost much more to run power lines parallel to the roads. I have not heard anyone from the power/phone companies complain that have trouble accessing their lines.
Professor Membrane wrote: Not now son, I'm making ... TOAST!
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