Disingenious Geoengineering
Our planet does not need an umbrella
{Republished from May 10, 2019}
Proposals of adding something to our atmosphere to somehow block some portion of the sun’s rays were actually considered as a possibility.
I personally find this one of the scariest ever developments in science.
The sun is our single source of energy. It is entirely free. It is inexhaustible, and all other forms of energy that we have were / are derived from it.
This is a scientific fact that pretty much even all religions also agree on.
Our entire planetary history is one comprised of the story of every photon we’ve received from it.
In theory, the sun’s energy falling on the desert landmasses of our planet is more than enough to generate electricity for all our human needs. Add to that, we have further capability to put sun-electric conversion infrastructure on the oceans around the equator.
And yet, a suggested response to perceived global warming problems, caused by our drive to supply our human demand for energy by mass extraction and combustion of stores of mineral energy, at profit, originally put there by the sun, for free, is to shield ourselves from that source of free energy, the single energy source of all life, of all history?
Get real folks!
Consider also the fact that the sun’s energy has momentum. Each photon has momentum. Which means that the sun exerts a force on our planet. This is a well known phenomenon by which we’ve previously proposed ingenious forms of solar propelled spacecraft.
That force is set by how many photons are reflected vs how many are absorbed. Absorbed photons result in attractive force. Reflected photons result in repulsive force.
The trajectory of our orbit around the sun is the resultant of that force, mixed with centrifugal force, and gravity.
If we reduce the amount of photons being absorbed, then we increase the repulsive force. This might not make any difference we could immediately detect, but, it would be accumulative, with an eventual effect which would be irreversible.
We would be receding from our sun, the single source of energy in our solar system, with no way back.
What we should be doing
A clue as to what we should really be doing can be had by considering those effects of forces due to solar mass, together with another known phenomenon; the apparent slowing of our planetary spin.
Those who have ever worked with precision GPS time sources, such as the kind that maintain timing throughout the internet, know that now and then, a leap second has to be inserted to maintain synchronicity with the 24 hour periodicity of our planet.
As of 2015, 16 leap seconds had been inserted since 1970. In other words, the actual length of a day is now more than 16 seconds longer than it was in 1970. So our planet is slowing down. Our kinetic energy is dissipating. And it doesn’t get any better, this has occurred throughout our known history.
The reflectivity of a solar panel has to change depending upon its loading. If the panel is working hard converting photons to electricity, then it is absorbing a higher proportion of photons than is the case if the panel is unloaded. A panel charging a battery is less loaded when the battery is charged, than when the battery is discharged.
Thus the solar force on that panel is more when the battery is charged than when the battery is discharged.
If a significant portion of the planetary surface area was covered by solar cells, each feeding a battery which charges throughout the day, and discharges throughout the night, then a net rotational force would exist on the planet, in opposition to the forces slowing it down.
Ever seen a soccer ball kicked at the side, spinning? That is a similar effect as that of photons hitting one side of the planet and being repelled, and on the other side, hitting the planet and being absorbed. Obviously there is no air in space, so no curving effect on our planet’s trajectory in space. But the spinning force on our planet would still exist, in opposition to the forces trying to slow the planetary spin.
Again this is an effect that would probably be immeasurable at any given time. But over time, it would be accumulative, measurable by the number of leap seconds inserted in a particular time period.
And the net effect on the planetary trajectory around the sun would be minimal, due to the forces on either side of the planet cancelling one another out.
This seems to me like a pretty obvious clue as to what we should be doing.
We should be releasing massive budgets towards putting as much solar panel coverage as we can possibly put around the planet, to supply free energy to smart solar powered cities in both desert and ocean areas around the equator, and the excess supplied to the rest of the world, for free.
Footnote
I am not associated in any way with Zappy’s technology solutions, whose cool image I’ve included above, or any other solar energy associated company. This is just my opinion as an Engineer and Researcher, and a human, genuinely concerned about the future of humanity and our planet, and what the activities of profit are doing to it.
There are better ways of doing things.
Edited 01/11/2022 to remove unintended member-only and copyright settings.
