[ExI] EP and Peak oil.

[Keith Henson]

On Fri, Apr 4, 2008 at 10:42 AM, John K Clark <jonkc at att.net> wrote:

snip
>
>  And I Don't understand what you are trying to say. First you say reactors
>  are dangerous because they produce Plutonium then you say they're not.

*All* reactors make plutonium.  If you advocate using them for power
you are advocating making plutonium.  It's unavoidable.

snip

>  > How do you think the space elevator could be used in the place of
>  > microwaves?
>
>  Boy that's a tough question! I'll have to think about that.
>
>  > Making antimatter and bring it down in a bag is a *joke.*
>
>  I could be wrong but I believe I read somewhere that scientists have
>  discovered another way of sending energy down a wire.

Please do some calculations on this one.  Nanotube cable probably
won't be much of a conductor.  But even if it was 50 times as good as
copper please figure the current, voltage and loses involved in 22,000
miles.  Next, how you are going to keep the cables from shorting out
in the rather conductive ionosphere and how you are going to restrain
the magnetic forces pushing the cables apart?  (A giant coax might
solve some of them.)

I am certainly not welded to microwave power transmission.  If you

>  > Even if it could be, an elevator has to come down close to the
>  > equator and > there isn't much demand for power there.
>
>  Not now but things change, it's not unreasonable to think industry might
>  move to where energy is cheap.

There are in theory ways to move and even store this kind of power,
see Keith Lofstrom's work, but they involve technology that is even
bigger than power sats.

Keith