Researchers did a test for possibly beaming power from space!

[thewayne]

Baby steps first!

This test involved a Cessna turboprop flying at 5,000 meters in cross-winds of up to 70 knots - a bit bumpy! - and it successfully beamed power from the plane to ground-based receivers using wide-field infra-red light. It's low-density energy compared to microwave power, but it also isn't remotely dangerous in case the targeting system of the transmitter is compromised and used to hammer something other than the receiver!

There have been other demonstrations, CalTech did one a few years ago, this is the first using a moving platform against ground targets, which I think was a microwave test. But a really big problem with microwave? Radio spectrum. It's all allocated for 5G wireless and lots of other things. Infra-red light? Doesn't have bandwidth allocation issues.

Interesting stuff.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/wireless-power-movin-airplane

Comments

[armiphlage]

I like the concept. It's going to be competing with rapidly-dropping battery storage costs, which are upturning all my previous conceptions regarding energy strategy.

[thewayne]

With the increase in solar farms and decrease in battery storage, if we could actually get orbital solar collectors beaming energy down, this could be a really cool future!

[disneydream06]

So is it gathering solar energy?
Hugs, Jon

[thewayne]

This was just a test to see if they could do it.  A full-scale implementation - many, MANY years down the line - would have large solar arrays in space beaming collected power down to the ground and into the grid.  They probably had batteries powering the emitter in the plane to ensure a consistent output.

[silveradept]

A neat proof-of-concept. Hopefully there will be a way of actually doing the thing. (And it probably wouldn't hurt if the solar power stations could detect Starlink satellites and roast them with a more concentrated beam when they passed into the power transmission space.)

[thewayne]

Heh.  As it turns out, there are rumors of Russia developing an ASAT weapon, there's no doubt Starlink would be a prime target for those.  Hit the lead on a cluster just right, you might be able to take out a whole bunch with the debris field from a single shot.