Do you think solar panel roadways linked across the country could reverse the effects of global climate change

Question

My Idea for solving Hydrocarbon Problems
My idea consists of creating an electrical system placed upon our nations highways in the form of an interconnected highly durable plastic solar panel system. Imagine if all of our roads were covered with such a system! Once manufactured, in the form of large and long plastic rolls, the system would make up the top layer of the roadway.

Plastics are being developed now which can store charges (batteries), conduct electricity, produce light (flexible television screens), and I would not doubt- also provide magnetic properties. By adding silicon in different property levels of ionic charge distributions, according to the movement of electrons flowing from lower energy voids to higher, solar activation of propulsions would be easily achieved, stored, and be made available to all in need of energy supplies.

Charge current could be supplied to moving vehicles as they travel and vehicles would never need to leave the road to charge. This could be achieved by proximity of tires to the road through conductive wires located within the tires or even by methods not easily explained other than in laymen's terms. There are methods of charging by magnetic proximity which would be enhanced due to movement. Advances in understanding the magnetic properties associated to moving aluminum allow the use of aluminum in products not to mention the use of plastics for lightweight materials of vehicles. Carbon fiber materials are perspective as well.

All surfaces of vehicles, buildings, and walkways are possible locations for the development of solar power generating surfaces.

The importance of developing systems which cover roadways are unlimited. The system should be developed with the perspective of controlling vehicles; propelling vehicles by magnetic pulse, future levitation of vehicles by mirror action magnetic repulsion now seen in superconductive materials, traffic control, and accident prevention. Tracking of all users as well as communication and information and data transfer should be implemented into the construction process. Management of surface durability and ice prevention are also benefits.

The future of vehicle self-drive systems would be highly manageable due to the construction of these roadways as well as national security. As the use of liquid fuel engines would become obsolete in the near future, everyone on the roadways could be easily accounted for at all times.

Answer 1

The idea certainly makes me think...I love questions that make me ponder "now why didn't I think of that? It makes sense!" I'd like to answer a few questions and concerns which other answerers have brought to light.

Semi-trucks can't stop hauling because America lives through the goods the truckers haul. And up here in MN, the river barges bring up alot of goods, but they can only run when the river isn't frozen...we'd be in big trouble without the truckers running in the winter months.

The current road workers would simply switch materials, instead of laying asphalt and concrete, they'd lay solar panels and electrical wiring. And as for the oil industry employees, they can help maintain the new roadways. With a project like this, there'll be plenty to do and there'll be people who need that work.

If we can go from home-spun and wooden farm implements to tv and cell phones in 200 years, there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to go from asphalt and oil to solar panels and magnetic cars in another 200. The colonists would never have dreamed of the things we have now, the inventions we've come up with. So it's understandable that we now can't fathom using solar panels for roadways.

How will erasing our dependancy on oil and building electro-magnetic interstate highways revert us into a 3rd world country? We'd still be thriving and expanding, we'd be moving forward. Some 3rd world countries still have public plumbing in the streets and walk further everyday for dry wood to heat their homes and hearths.

What WOULD the durability of these panels be? Would we have to reduce speed limits (which increases travel time, thus making a moot issue of conservancy and prevention) so there'd potentially be fewer accidents?

As for Star Trek, you should have watched the show titled something like "How William Shatner Changed the World". The guy who invented cell phones got the idea from Kirk's communicator that he was constantly flipping out of his pocket.

I'd be willing to take part in such a venture as this, but I need more research done and stats provided because I can't answer anything about another person's concerns about CO2 or heat or friction. Plus, I have a question of my own. In the regions that get snow, plus those that flood, how will we prevent the electricity from shorting out? If I'm reading the original proposition correctly, electricity keeps traffic moving. Traffic standing still is generally something seen in big cities (or construction on the I-90 bridge here, LOL) So would little burbs of 50K people have traffic jams like LA notoriously does if the electricity shorts out?

Answer 2

Honestly, I think this is a very realistic goal for improving air quality and suplying energy.

You wouldn't want to use it as a road surface, as deposits from tire treads would degrade its productivity, but such a system could easily be constructed alongside roadways and rail systems. Panels would not have to be as wide as a roadway, as you have virtually unlimited linear space.

However, I don't think it will make a difference in global climate change. The primary driving force for "global warming" is not man-made polution, but natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions. People probably have SOME effect, but its a bit like the whole tea-cup-in-the-swimming-pool thing.

There's nothing that can be done about global warming. Remember that the earth's climate is in a constant cycle from cold to hot, and back to cold. I'm sure you've heard of ice ages.

Answer 3

While it would certainly reduce CO2 emissions, it would not necessarily reduce global heating, which appears to be your baseline question. Solar panels take energy which would possibly be reflected or radiated back in to space by the higher-albedo ground and instead convert the sunlight to electricity. The electricity is converted to work, which ultimately becomes heat in the form of friction losses, or in heat for your electric motors (if you didn't have friction losses, a car could just roll forever on a flat plain). So, solar panels also contribute to planetary heating, but without the hazards of CO2 emissions. They might contribute less heat overall, however, but I've never seen anyone do the calculations to prove that.

Answer 4

No. This idea is just more idiocy from a bunch of hate-America losers who want us to take a backseat to the third-world cesspools around the world. They are embarrassed that America's free-market capitalism has made this country the greatest the world has ever seen. We've come from a pipsqueak nation on the edge of nowhere to the greatest nation in terms of freedom, productivity and opportunity there has ever been in just 200 years or so. Nobody else even comes close. The libs don't like being Number One because somebody else has to be second. To them, that's not "fair." Fairness is an idiotic idea. You are either first, or you're nowhere.

Answer 5

This is an awesome idea!

Are there any progressive engineers and venture capitalists out there up to the challenge? Could it realistically be done? Are there any unseen drastic maintenance issues like durability? What traffic load could a system like this bear reasonably? What kind of return on investment could a financier or the people see? Would this create new jobs? What kind?

I love seeing answers like this. They are so creative. Perhaps some or all of this will be used or cause the generation of other ideas as well. :)

Answer 6

Reversal is quite difficult but the effects to global climate change can however be lessened to some extent in future.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

It might work in Utopia but not here within the next couple hundred years. Construction and conversion costs would make it cost prohibitive.

Answer 9

Only if enought people stopped driving gas powered vehicles and all the semi trucks stopped hauling.

Answer 10

this is all very star trek, like in star trek, inorder for there to be a change, most of the world would have to be devastated. hopefully not in our lifetime.