Outdoor Solar Lights

I know light doesnt have any mass, but it does have momentum. Seems like if solar sails work, this should too.

It would have to be pushing off something i would like to think. But yes it would, there is alot of stuff out there and if we were to bounce a laser off some of it then it should cause motion. It would be slow but steady acceleration. After a good amout of time i think that it would be moving rather fast and as long as the battery held it would keep getting faster and faster as long as it was not acted on by an outside force.

In movies and television planets are always shown to be so bright floating out there in space. I don’t find it hard to believe that the earth is so well lit because of it’s relative distance to the sun being so much closer than other planets in our galaxy, but would planets as far out as Neptune and Pluto be just as bright outside a spaceship’s window if I was able to travel there?

I figure since space is a vacuum and light moves unimpeded through space (provided it doesn’t hit anything) it should do just as good a job on a far away planet as a near one, even if it would take longer to reach out towards the end of our solar system.

The light from our sun reaches even distant solar systems. The stars you see in the sky at night are distant suns.

How illuminated on object in space can be depends on a few things. Two of the most important ones are:

1. Distance from the light source.
2. Reflectivity of the object.
3. The human eye.

The most reflective object in our solar system can’t be seen with the human eyes. This is Saturn’s moon Enceladus. But if you were approaching it, it’d most definatly appear illuminated.

Saturn’s moon Iapetus, however, is a different story. Iapetus, also called the two tone moon, seems to have highly reflective material on one hemisphere and black material on the other. You can see a picture of it here

http://www.planetary.org/explore/topics/our_solar_system/saturn/iapetus.html

In the darkness of space, most very large things in the solar system, granted you were close enough, would probably have some degree of illumination.

I was having a debate with my friend about ways to make the environment better and to have a better energy reliance than oil. One idea that was floated was to have every street lamp based on solar power (with backup electrical grid power in case it rains or something) anyway, here was the debate which we need your answers to: Is it better to have a solar panel on each street light OR Is it better to keep the street lights as they are and just install solar panel hubs around the city that feeds into the electrical grid?

Until compact onsite electrical storage becomes practical, it’s better to have centralized solar power stations feeding power to the electrical grid, because 1) the wiring to the lamps are already in place and/or are necessary anyway for times of no sun, and 2) greater efficiencies and easier maintenance is possible at large solar power installations than with thousands of small solar collectors. However, independent "off the grid" solar powered devices is the trend. For example, through fuel cell technology, compact solar energy storage may become possible and practical, in which case high efficiency street lamps may go off the grid, thereby reducing wiring needs.

I came accross a new, proven and tested home made wind power system and solar power system which eliminates our electricity bills. It was written by a Renewable energy enthusiasts Michael Harvey the diy called Earth4energy. You can get your copy to save energy and help environment while eliminating your power bills. Get it from here: http://homemadeenergyreviews.blogspot.com/

I’m not an engineer but I have this idea of a kind of Helium airship with solar panels on top. Then Hydrogen fuel bags underneath, bigger Helium bags under that and them a house with a small garden and swimming pool. There could be a shaft through it to light the house. The idea would be to get Hydrogen by sun powered electrolysis, this would be gathered from clouds and Sunlight. The house could then float about visiting other parts of the world occasionally landing in the sea. Could this be possible, energywise, would it be safe, could it be green?

Airships or dirigibles are proven technology they were actually quite popular form of transport from the very early 1900′s until the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. (Hindenburg had a lifting capacity of 242 gross tons)

Zeppelin made the mistake of using hydrogen instead of helium, which ended the reign of the airship rather dramatically.

Depending on how heavy the "House and pool" this idea is very possible. Have a look at the Goodyear blimps to get an idea of the size requirements

http://www.goodyearblimp.com/

With the large surface area there is plenty of room for solar panels. Thin film solar technology could possibly be utilised to build the gasbags. Energy wise, yes I think there would be plenty.

Safety Ummm ….. If the hydrogen were to be kept to the inner bags with the outer bags filled only with helium it could be safer. You would need a good deal of separation between anything electrical and hydrogen. There have been heaps of advancements in plastics and polymers in the last few years, but there is always an element of danger involved with highly flammable gases. Getting a partly filled hydrogen airship approved by air safety authorities would be a nightmare, but possible.

Could it be green? Yes it could be any colour you like. (Sorry couldn’t resist)

The airships of the 1900′s utilised jet streams and weather patterns during trips. They were largely wind assisted. So with virtually greenhouse emissions, I think this could be classed environmentally friendly. (I will guarantee that not everyone will agree.)

Without getting too far off track if you have a look at weather charts the wind circles around the highs and lows. If you fly to the correct side it helps. (Sailing boats do this).

In Summary: Yes quite doable.

Have you got anybody in mind to bank roll this?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airship