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maplea futuristic solar-powered space flight plan could help save the world. But Hajimiri For more than ten years he has been researching how to place solar panels in space and redirect the energy to Earth. The three questions that keep coming up about his project are: “Why not put solar panels on the ground?” Are you going to fry birds in the sky? Are you building a Death Star? CNN has published statements from various specialists on this topic, which we will repeat below. The teacher from Caltech Electrical Engineering He jokes about the questions people ask him when he talks about his project. He points out that he’s thinking about printing the answers on a card: “I’ll carry it in my wallet to show people.”
Hajimiri He didn’t always have the same interest in solar energy specifically. In fact, it wasn’t until he examined it closely that he began to see it differently: “On average, you get eight times more energy in space than you get from solar energy in space.” Tierra“. On the other hand, he assures that the Flash poses no danger to the animals and will not be the Death Star since it will not be powerful enough to be used as a weapon.
In 2023 Hajimiri and his team have made great progress on this project, which is now closer to reality than a dream.
Maple: the space solar prototype that brings us closer to space
They started last January (2023). maple, a 30 centimeter long space solar prototype equipped with flexible and lightweight transmitters. The purpose was to collect energy from the sun and send it wirelessly into space. They hit a target and manage to light up a pair of LEDs. However, the purpose of maple The aim was to find out whether detectable energy could also be transferred to Earth.
In May 2023, the team launched a robbery exercise. It took place on a rooftop of the campus Caltech in Pasadena, California, Hajimiri and the other scientists picked up the signal. The amount of energy detected was small and too small to be considered useful, but they had managed to transmit energy wirelessly from space, which was quite an achievement. “It was only later that we realized that it was something very special,” says the expert.
Maple is considered “far-fetched” by some people
Thinking about dedicated solar energy may sound crazy and futuristic, but the idea has been around for a long time. Science fiction writing began as early as 1941 Isaac Asimov He told a story about her. From there, USA, China j Japan They investigated the viability of this idea, but it was rejected for years. “The profitability was crazy,” he says. Martin SoltauCEO of the British company Space Solar.
That reality may now be changing as the cost of launching satellites falls, solar and robotic technology advances, and there is a need for abundant clean energy to replace the fossil fuels that are warming the planet. There is “a combination of different technologies exactly when you need them,” admits the emeritus professor of special ship technology at the University of Surrey (United Kingdom). Craig Underwood.
Is maple possible?
¿maple Did it arrive on time? Underwood, a professor from the United Kingdom, has expressed his opinion on special solar energy, warning that it is “not science fiction.” “The big obstacle was simply the cost of putting a power plant into orbit,” he admits. The last decade was crucial for the paradigm shift as companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin began producing reusable rockets. Everything points to that maple It comes at the right time to show what solar energy is capable of in space.
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