[ExI] Bosch exits Solar business in Germany

[Keith Henson]

On Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 4:00 AM, Mike Dougherty <msd001 at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Tue, Apr 2, 2013 at 10:50 AM, Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com> wrote:
> > "The disruptive element behind this paper is large, high efficiency
> > lasers developed outside the space industry for other purposes.
>
> Would that other purpose be CIWS?

Yes.

> I was looking at Phalanx systems
> and noted that there is now a laser version (which must be easier to
> manage than 4500 rps of tungsten or depleted uranium shells)

You might know that the next generation of ships is going to double or
more the power plant.

> Will 50kw lasers work or will you need to scale
> vertically/horizontally to get to orbit?

The biggest military laser is 105 kW, and there is no reason they
could not scale to GW.

Eugen Leitl <eugen at leitl.org> worte

> You'll probably need MW-GW nonpulsed output total,
> depending on craft size.

Right.  270 MW will support the LEO to GEO traffic, something upwards
of 3 GW is needed for the end of air breathing to LEO.

Snip.

> Why the net energy decay is a problem -- you need energy input
> for heavy infrastructure work. In absence of cheap energy,
> rapid EROEI is more important than high EROEI.

That's why power satellites are interesting.  They have an energy
payback time of under two months.

snip

> Subject: [ExI] Iain Banks has terminal cancer

Bummer.

Nobody really knows what the post singularity world will be like, but
Banks tried and his work, like that of Charley Stross, is excellent.

There are experimental treatments on the research horizon that just
cure such things.  Cancers avoid the immune system by displaying a
"I'm a good guy" signal on their surfaces.  Block that (which has been
done experimentally) and you get really sick for a couple of weeks
while the immune cells clean up the cancer.

I wonder if Banks would consider cryonics?  Grim as it seems, cancer
is the best way you can go for a good suspension.

Keith