tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158169.post2269594661333628746..comments2023-06-07T08:21:44.675-05:00Comments on Tim's Thoughtful Spot: Going Cold Turkey Ain't EasyTim McGahahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10344033690443344729noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158169.post-65568940607497615762009-04-03T21:24:00.000-05:002009-04-03T21:24:00.000-05:00Good analysis on the opportunities and difficultie...Good analysis on the opportunities and difficulties. Thank you.Burr Deminghttp://www.fairandunbalanced.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158169.post-11859911635469015532009-04-03T11:34:00.000-05:002009-04-03T11:34:00.000-05:00@M. Simon:I'd read about the carbon nanotube condu...@M. Simon:<BR/><BR/>I'd read about the carbon nanotube conductors, but forgot them until you mentioned it. It may take a while, but it'll probably happen before supra-room-temp superconductors. I'll add a note to that effect.<BR/><BR/>And I've been following Bussard's work for quite some time now. They're getting awfully close. Maybe the next turn of the crank will close the deal. I sure hope so.<BR/><BR/>As to the question on funding ... well, that's an excellent question. The new Secretary of Energy has spoken positively of Polywell in the past. I'm reserving judgment until I see the budget, though.<BR/><BR/>@W. Manness:<BR/><BR/>Yes, it's the old Catch-22 situation. Being an aerospace engineer by education, I tend to be biased towards thinking about the transportation side of the equation, though. Still, even if PVs were free, the $10K/lb cost of getting them up there would still be a killer. That cost <I>has</I> to come down to make it economically feasible.Tim McGahahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10344033690443344729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158169.post-8597261958410800772009-04-02T00:39:00.000-05:002009-04-02T00:39:00.000-05:00In your item #4, you mention the 'long pole' of po...In your item #4, you mention the 'long pole' of powersats being cheap access to space. There are a few other poles that compete with that one, but they all fall under the same economic chicken and egg problem. We can't have powersats because we don't have cheap rides to orbit. We don't have cheap rides to orbit, because the traffic volume and repeating loads aren't there. Ditto the thin-film photovoltaic manufacturing conundrum. The answer to this problem is to go to the healthiest balance sheets and leverage them to provide a credit-worthy customer, both for the launch providers, and the PV providers, etc. The utilities, both public and IOUs know how to fund and manage multi-billion dollar generation projects. They have the credit-worthiness to support such activities. Convince them, and the rest follows.<BR/><BR/>In the interest of complete disclosure...<BR/>WilliamManess (at) PowerSat (dot) comWilliam Manesshttp://www.powersat.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9158169.post-60543722939126661992009-04-01T22:57:00.000-05:002009-04-01T22:57:00.000-05:00The amount of lost energy in the electrical distri...The amount of lost energy in the electrical distribution system can be greatly reduced when carbon nanotube conductors with a conductivity of 5X that of copper become widely available. It will be a while.<BR/><BR/>As for power generation. This is a good bet: <BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://iecfusiontech.blogspot.com/2009/01/easy-low-cost-no-radiation-fusion.html" REL="nofollow">Bussard's IEC Fusion Technology (Polywell Fusion) Explained</A> <BR/><BR/>If it works the cost of generating electricity will decline to between 10% and 50% of current costs. <BR/><BR/><BR/><B>Why hasn't Polywell Fusion been fully funded by the Obama administration?</B>M. Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09508934110558197375noreply@blogger.com