wow. That video was the biggest load of @#(! i've seen in a long time. They claim they are going to build factories in every state in the country and every country in the world. And that will create millions of jobs. Really???
Seriously, it could be a piece in the onion. "Company invents solar roads, claims new invention will make all other forms of power generation obsolete"
Solar Roadways
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takingarms1
- Posts: 3052
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2004 8:00 am
I often pondered this while roaming up and down Telegraph road (US24) in the winter. One idea: Nuclear reactor have cooling towers.Why not divert that cooling water to pipes under the roads in the winter? Grant you, nuke reactors are a ways away from civilization (not so much in the future). But still, cooling water has no contaminants so piping a long way will just melt more road surface. This will free up resources for roads that are too distant for this method to work.
It's surprisingly ineffective is my guess.
In the city where I work the Council runs a waste incinerator which is used to create electricity by boiling water. The hot water is also used to heat Council Office buildings in the city centre and is piped under the road (an absolute ballache of a job as far as I can tell). Whilst we didn't have a cold winter I wasn't aware that there was any significant improvement in road temperatures. My guess is that tarmac is a very good radiator so at night you'd need to stick a crap load of heat into it to keep it above freezing
In the city where I work the Council runs a waste incinerator which is used to create electricity by boiling water. The hot water is also used to heat Council Office buildings in the city centre and is piped under the road (an absolute ballache of a job as far as I can tell). Whilst we didn't have a cold winter I wasn't aware that there was any significant improvement in road temperatures. My guess is that tarmac is a very good radiator so at night you'd need to stick a crap load of heat into it to keep it above freezing
Spidey: Can't think of a reason I'd need to know anything
Combi-plants are great for district heating and as a source of high pressure steam for industrial use. Heating roads is just silly.Raveen wrote:QUOTE (Raveen @ May 21 2014, 03:30 PM) It's surprisingly ineffective is my guess.
In the city where I work the Council runs a waste incinerator which is used to create electricity by boiling water. The hot water is also used to heat Council Office buildings in the city centre and is piped under the road (an absolute ballache of a job as far as I can tell). Whilst we didn't have a cold winter I wasn't aware that there was any significant improvement in road temperatures. My guess is that tarmac is a very good radiator so at night you'd need to stick a crap load of heat into it to keep it above freezing
<bp|> Maybe when I grow up I can be a troll like PsycH
<bp|> or an obsessive compulsive paladin of law like Adept
If you were going to do it I'd suggest a system more like conventional central heating with a hot main and a return with a network of fine pipes connecting the two. You'd want to build it into the base course most likely maybe 50mm below the wearing course.
It would be a total mare for utilities if course and maintenance would be limited to 40mm plane and patch.
All in all, bad idea
It would be a total mare for utilities if course and maintenance would be limited to 40mm plane and patch.
All in all, bad idea
Spidey: Can't think of a reason I'd need to know anything
Those roadworks were an absolute ballache I can tell you that much...Raveen wrote:QUOTE (Raveen @ May 21 2014, 01:30 PM) The hot water is also used to heat Council Office buildings in the city centre and is piped under the road (an absolute ballache of a job as far as I can tell).
spideycw - 'This is because Grav is a huge whining bitch. But we all knew that already' Dec 19 2010, 07:36 PM
Most of the downtown area of Detroit is run on steam upon further reflection with miles of tunnels everywhere and there is definitely snow on the roads there too.
The 32 inches is probably a few inches once you take into account real world effects and the fact that much of the time the panels are being shadowed by what are they called again.... cars yeah cars
Using the breakdown lanes is a more realistic option
The 32 inches is probably a few inches once you take into account real world effects and the fact that much of the time the panels are being shadowed by what are they called again.... cars yeah cars
Using the breakdown lanes is a more realistic option
Ssssh
factoid wrote:QUOTE (factoid @ May 22 2014, 12:58 PM) In Iceland they apparently do the pipes under the road thing, but it's all geothermal. Seems to work well for them.
Basically unlimited, almost free geothermal heat is something completely different then the nonsense from the two hippies who have either a vague grasp of physics or ethics in Fuzz's inital link
Last edited by MrChaos on Mon May 26, 2014 12:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
Ssssh