So, you gots nuffin then? I’m militantly unsurprised. My WAG is you tried to Google some of this fantasy, found out that none of it exists outside of speculation by futurists and figured your one cite from Cornell in 2005 was all you needed to do, along with some bluster. 
On your “Spread it across the time zones” plan, how many different countries would have to sign off on this?
None, it’s a for-profit enterprise on their part. Just like OPEC, except it never runs out.
It’s called a “precedent,” and I can’t believe you even tried Google to find superconducting power-grids.
Bye.
Are you leaving us?
Bye.
I asked YOU for a cite. You made the assertion. I assume by your post here that you’ve discovered that no one has, as yet, implemented a full production superconducting power grid, and thus, tail tucked fully between your legs you are headed out, stage left, to try and use these bullshit tactics on a more receptive audience.
However, here are some fine parting gifts for you…we have the SDMB Great Debates edition board game, and this fine (non-superconducting) ceramic dog…
waves a sad fairwell I shall miss you…
I guess SarahWitch might not be around to respond to this, but I was curious about what this robot was able to do, and it is NOWHERE NEAR being capable of “self replicating” in the manner that would be required to synthesize infrastructure out of sand. Basically, a robot comprised of a set of modules could be programmed to collect and assemble other modules to form the same robot - but it could not:
-Collect and refine raw materials
-Fabricate new parts out of refined material
-Manufacture new modules out of prefab parts
It didn’t even have a self-contained power supply! As cool as it is that the robots are able to assemble existing modules into a new robot, the other steps are FAR more difficult to achieve, and as far as I can tell we are nowhere near the point where we can build any sort of mineral processing plant or factory from scratch using even purpose-built robots, much less an integrated and fully automated processing plant + factory that can build robots that can build these plants
How can you measure the efficiency of a solar panel? Are there monitors that track how much energy is going in? Or how much opportunity they have to extract energy?
Solar simulator - Wikipedia
Energy out vs energy in. Happy to discuss further if you like.
Are you guys talking centralized solar or decentralized? If the latter, who’s going go up on my roof and clean the snow off the panels? Not me, I tell you.
I do wonder how they go about this in Germany, where solar penetration is high.
Germany provides incentives to stimulate solar power generation known as ‘feed-in’ tariffs. Many countries tune their renewable energy generation policy by adjusting these incentives, where you get paid for generating electrical power. It is an subsidy to encourage the industry. The UK has a particularly chaotic record in this respect. In Germany they too had a solar boom in installations. There is a lot of political pressure to move away from nuclear. That is simply for solar generation, you can also sell the power you generate unless you can store and use it locally, but that awaits and affordable household battery.
However, solar and wind power generation are highly variable sources, unlike gas, coal,nuclear, hydro, etc which can be centrally controlled and adjusted to meet demand. Electricity grids are build to match these reliable sources, the flow is one way, from big plants generating mega and gigawatts to end users through a network consisting of a cascading set of high to low AC transmission lines.
Solar and Wind can easily generate more power than is needed at times and what can they do? Simply disconnect the supply! Also because of its variability it can introduces instability on the grid, which has to be re-engineered to become a two way grid. All national electricity grids are facing this problem and there is no clear answer yet, but there is certainly a major infrastructural challenge ahead. High capacity DC supergrids, smart metering, battery grid storage. All these are important elements that are still in an early stage of maturity.
I am sure householders who install solar panels on their roof has little idea what happens to the electricity they generate. The nice warm feeling of being involved is a sustainable power generation initiative might not be so comforting if they knew that the power was simply unused because of the lack of national and local grid infrastructure to handle it. However, that will change in time.
Elon Musks’ big battery in Australia is designed to even out the instabilities introduced onto the grid by solar power generation. The authorities who manage electricity grids also have to plan for EV car charging stations, which is another big change.
Solar panels are photogenic, but they really distract attention from other important issues and technologies involved in electricity generation, distribution and storage. It is one of several different technologies that have be used together to provide a reliable service on a national scale.
On a smaller scale, to supply the large portion of the planet that does not have a reliable grid, the cost of a solar/battery combo is easier to monitor. At the moment they are in the luxury price bracket, way out of the reach of the people who need them. They have a long way to go. Nonetheless things are moving ahead briskly.
It would be handy to have some consistent reference points for measuring the way this technology develops. The common one seems to be the power required to supply a home. Homes come in all shapes and sizes around the world.:dubious: