[ExI] How will air travel work in a green solar economy?

[Robert G Kennedy III, PE]

On 2014-07-11 08:00, Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com> wrote;
> On Thu, Jul 10, 2014 at 5:00 AM,  John Clark <johnkclark at gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>> There are only 2 other sources that have the potential to power our
>> civilization for the next billion years:
>>
>> 1) Fusion reactors, but nobody is close to figuring out how to build 
>> even a
>> working model much less a practical machine.
>> 2) Thorium fission reactors, and we?ve known how to build them for 
>> half a
>> century.
>
> Well, it's fairly clear now much attention people pay to this list.
>
> I have rapped for years about power satellites and the economic
> connection between the cost to get parts to GEO and the cost of 
> power.
>
> Re fusion reactors, there is a working one at a convenient distance.
.                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

That's a beautiful /bon mot/, Keith. Nice.

On fusion, see: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-750T .

"Since the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) 
Agreement was signed in 2006, the Department of Energy's (DOE) estimated 
cost for the U.S. portion of ITER has grown by almost $3 billion, and 
its estimated completion date has slipped by 20 years. DOE has 
identified several reasons for the changes, such as increases in 
hardware cost estimates as designs and requirements have been more fully 
developed over time."

-- 
Robert G Kennedy III, PE
www.ultimax.com
1994 AAAS/ASME Congressional Fellow
U.S. House Subcommittee on Space