This is what they are really working on. MMWWAA-cough-AAHHAAAHHHAAA !
http://www.purely-games.com/ant_city.html :})
LMFAO at ant city game.
SO what if they build the huge sunlight collector up in space and beam down sunlight. Then some giant space traveler decides to use it just like ant city game. We would be screwed. Not such a good idea to put a giant magnifying glass in space if you ask me!
Free energy would bring world peace. I still don’t think you can make money, think of it as aliens using us chimps to do there bidden. Money is a way of using people, a form of slavery. And in the end will only lead toward the fall of civilization.
I tend to think about these things (like the energy issue) on a global scale. So yes, if it does fail it is our problem. Japan would have to be one of the world leaders in technology. If they poured a little more money into their own fusion research projects (they have a few) then they might just crack it, and the sooner the energy problem has a viable solution (not necessarily fusion) then the less hard hit we’re going to be when the real energy crisis starts.
Its either going to be a slow gradual movement away from fossil fuels, or a massive smack in the face for the human race as a whole, followed by a struggle to change to something different, or even worse.
And as for the petrol companies and their forcefulness into not letting these new technologies ‘get out there’, perhaps they should look into future investments? Theyd certainly have the money to. Id be looking at getting to the moon and mining it for Helium3, then the petrol companys will slowly turn to Helium3 companys and start making a profit from selling that to the fusion reactors. Just an idea, seems logical to me 
The fuels for power production will change and adapt, if they want to stay on top they need to change and adapt as well.
I say we take the money away from the wealthy and invest it into alternative forms of energy.
$21 billion? Wow.
I had an idea that could really benefit from this kind of money and provide more energy than 300k homes…
A large floating platform (miles wide) that harnesses wave power on the surface. It has a tether to the ocean floor that generates power from tidal drifting and from large changes in the level of the ocean surface. On top of the platform (because it is so big) are wind turbines taking advantage of the fact that there is no geography on the ocean to slow down winds (such as hills, mountains, etc.) Ocean currents could be tapped for energy by underwater turbines attached to the underside of the platform. All surfaces of the platform could be covered with solar panels. The temperature difference between the deep ocean and the surface could be used to generate power. The structure could be formed in such a way that an artificial reef would grow on it and provide a breeding ground for aquatic life.
I can’t believe the crazy ideas that are actually getting funding. Beaming microwave energy onto a large inhabited area of the Earth’s surface seems completely stupid to me.
This kind of thing makes me think that we’re all doomed because no matter what most people want there will always be a few people who manage to secure funding for something that will kill us all in the long run. :mad:
Edit:
I thought about this and whilst it’s not converting stupidity into power, how about connecting all those exercise bikes in all the gyms in the world to micro power generators. People who are fitness addicts or those just trying to get less unhealthy could be contributing rather than just wasting time. I saw on TV a program where a 100W bulb was being powered by a single guy on a bike. Why waste all this energy when we have an impending energy crisis?
I can totally see the big companies choosing to mine the moon for energy sources,
rather than working with easier methods.
Id suggest that idea for $21,000,000,000 research funding anyday over this Solar Array crap!
Sounds much easier to build and use/repair (since its not in space and wont require a huge amount of money and energy to transport up there) Plus it utilizes several different methods of energy generation to make its purpose even more efficient. And of course its good for the environment
I like it when these concepts not only generate the energy we need, but also look after the earth at the same time.
Edit
Lol I’m guessing thats a large dose of sarcasm there…
one of the best films of this year dealt with mining the moon to provide energy.
sorry, gratuitous plug for a movie there…
Al, I do think that money is just a form of slavery, but do you think they’d let go of that type of power that willingly? Free energy wouldn’t bring world peace, it would bring world war. The people running the current energy infrastructure can definitely afford to wage war. The entire middle eastern economy - especially the wealthy economy - is built on the current energy infrastructure. They would absolutely wage war over it.
Wow I’ve never heard of that movie, certainly wasn’t advertised here in Australia. Thanks for mentioning that Squiggly.
Shouldn’t the nation reward people for being successful, those that deserve it by letting them invest their money in their companies and charities that do things like feed the hungry?
I’m not saying all CEO’s deserve to make all the money they have earned, but some are successful and deserve to be because they have good ethics.
They’ve done this solar power thing on small scales, and the microwave emissions are spread out and of a low enough intensity that birds living in the testing site, were unharmed and continued to reproduce just fine.
Large scale solar power to support increasing energy demands isn’t that far out there technically. Fusion power, if possible, is still quite a ways away.
If manufacturing facilities could be established in space, the cost of and energy output of large solar arrays would drop precipitously and rise exponentially, in that order.