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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!houxm!hou2h!ajw
From: ajw@hou2h.UUCP (A.WIENERS)
Newsgroups: net.followup
Subject: Re: Alternate Energy & Microwaves
Message-ID: <565@hou2h.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 8-Aug-84 14:23:20 EDT
Article-I.D.: hou2h.565
Posted: Wed Aug  8 14:23:20 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 9-Aug-84 04:14:17 EDT
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 22

<<>>

> Microwaves have been proposed for power transmissions, but whenever I think
> of microwaves carrying enough energy to actually be useful, I keep on seeing
> all these birds, airliners, etc. flying through the beam and getting cooked.
>
>				David Smith

The proposed SunSat (SPS, whatever) uWave beams carry less energy (even in
the center of the beam!) than full sunlight; their advantage is that they
irradiate the rectenna (RECtifying anTENNA, as I recall) 24 hrs/day and are
unblocked by clouds (I assume the xmission freq is tuned for a window in the
H2O etc. absorption spectra).

The real problem the originators had was whether the uWaves would effect the
ionosphere (sp?).  Subsequent testing (reported around 18 months ago?) showed
no significant problems, although the details escape me.  Anyone out there at
Princeton/SSI (Space Studies Institute, i.e. G. K. O'Neill) to clarify this?
(note: I'm not sure what the relationship between Princeton & the SSI is, and
do NOT wish to imply any).

art	ihnp4!hou2h!ajw	HO1B612 201/834-1142 (Earth)