1 HN user recommended this explainer1 month2014–2023score 1
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN cites it as the go-to debunking whenever solar roads come up, because it does the math.
Dave Jones of EEVblog debunks the Solar Roadways project, which raised millions through Indiegogo and government funding. He works through the solar generation and LED power calculations to show the idea isn't viable.
Very relevant: [this video] Many of you probably know EEVblog. In this video he does the math. Spoilers: as common sense suggests, those roads are not such a good idea (at least with currently available technology).
I assume you're referencing [this video] Erthos' panels are not solar freakin roadways, because they're fenced off, and only maintenance robots drive on them.
How does it increase our knowledge, or ability to do new exciting things, or our ability to "push the envelope"? It keeps resources from being wasted that would otherwise actually contribute to our ability to "push the envelope." It doesn't. It's a waste of time and effort. When something which really is impossible or impractical is called out, then huge amounts of resources can be redirected to genuinely beneficial projects. [this video] Are you advocating that we never doubt? Should we just "listen and believe" and somehow our positive energy will make things happen? Sorry, no. Scientific analysis has predictive power. That's what Elon Musk is all about.
But it wasn't a valuable experiment. Absolutely nothing was learned from it. It's some combination of delusion and fraud. Here's a video from 2014 discussing it: [this video]
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