Alternative+Article+Two

Bobby Schneider Oil Politics: Oil Alternatives Project Article Annotation Two

Charles Choi is a writer who travels the globe to find unique and captivating stories. He has worked as an intern and freelancer for numerous magazines including New Scientist, Scientific American, Live Science, and Science Magazine, working from a New York City office. After attending the University of Missouri-Columbia for journalism and New College for biology/humanities, Choi has written a wide variety of articles ranging from nature, to technology, to healthcare, and even economic trade.

One article by Choi, entitled “Out-of-this-world proposal for solar wind power,” introduces the idea and potential of solar wind as a source of power for the future of mankind, more specifically the Dyson-Harrop satellite. Within the first few paragraphs the Dyson-Harrop satellite is described as a “metal spherical receiver” connected to a “long metal wire loop” which will be aimed toward the sun. This metal wire will attract electrons to both obtain energy for Earth and to use as a basis for its own magnetic field (Choi, 2010, page 1). Since air does not have an effect on infrared beams, it is expected that this type of laser will be the top option for transmitting the energy back to the planet’s surface. Assuming that a laser can be developed to maintain its strength for the entire distance, a solar sail just 10 meters in diameter can power roughly 1,000 American households and sails can even be built so large that a single sail could supply the entire world with energy (Choi, 2010, page 1). A benefit of using solar wind rather than solar power in space is that while solar power needs expensive solar cells, the solar wind satellites are mostly comprised of copper, which is much cheaper in comparison and easier to build given the incredible size and location. Furthermore, solar wind, much like solar power from space, is a constant energy supplier that will never run out, at least not until the sun dies out (Choi, 2010, page 1). One of the most significant drawbacks to this type of concept is, as previously mentioned, creating a sufficient laser. Seeing as the sail will be located “above the ecliptic – the plane defined by the Earth’s orbit around the sun,” in order to obtain maximum solar wind energy, the distance that laser has to be able to travel is well into the millions of kilometers (Choi, 2010, page 1). Another concern is the possibility of the wiring system suffering from a “burn out” as a result of the immensely powerful current that it could generate (Choi, 2010, page 1).

This article contains quite a few useful quotes that portray the main points being described, however the following three seem to stand out the most to me: “A satellite with. . . a 1-kilometre-long wire and a sail 8400 kilometres wide could generate roughly 1 billion billion gigawatts of power, ‘which is actually 100 billion times the power humanity currently requires. . .’” (Choi, 2010, page 1). A second useful quote that describes the technological level needed is that “‘This satellite is actually something that we can build, using modern technology and delivery methods’” (Choi, 2010, page 1). The third quote, though a downside, offers another view on the challenges of this concept: “To draw significant amounts of power Dyson-Harrop satellites rely on the constant solar wind found high above the ecliptic – the plane defined by Earth’s orbit around the sun. . . even a sharp laser beam would spread to thousands of kilometres wide by the time it reached Earth” (Choi, 2010, page 1). These three quotes combined show not only the potential of such a system, but also where today’s technology stands in relation to where it needs to go in order to make these types of projects successful in what will hopefully be the near future.

I think that this document is of use to me primarily because of the details used in describing the size, location, and structure, as well as the pros and cons, of the solar wind project that I have chosen to focus on. Especially considering that the Dyson-Harrop satellite is only in its design phase, these types of articles offer a great basis for information that is currently more limited in availability and can be rather difficult to come across.

__Works Cited__:

Choi, Charles. “Out-of-this-world proposal for solar wind power.” __NewScientist__. 24 Sept. 2010. < [|http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19497-outofthisworld-proposal-for-solar-wind-] [| power.html] >.

__Past Work and Credentials__:

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