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"Cyberpunk worked when the Internet was in its hand-wound crystal radio phase, when you had to be a sort of hobbyist to do e-mail, and it all had a very steep learning curve. Those days are over."
- William Gibson
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| Solar Electric Paint - Black Power | ||
| A black-colored paint that can be sprayed on, making any surface a solar power generator. |
This is such a great idea - there must be an engineer who can make this happen. All you would need as a flat surface that is angled to receive solar radiation and presto, you have solar power ready to use.
| What's finally knocked the bottom out is this new solar electric paint. Black Power, they call it. It turns sunlight into electricity, just like any solar power converter, but you spray it on. Place your cables and then spray over them. All you need is sunlight and room. |
| Technovelgy from The Woman in Del Rey Crater,
by Larry Niven. Published by Flatlander in 1995 Additional resources -
|
You can already use black paint (matte black) to solar heat a room; if you have a big south-facing wall try it out. The conversion of solar power to electricity, though, that's a tall order without a panel full of ICs.
Read more about the history of photovoltaics, as well as a very early reference to solar power in sf, at the article on the sunpower screen - solar cell array for vehicle power from Robert Heinlein's 1940 story Coventry.
'Black Power' has seen a remarkable confirmation in real life - see Niven's 'Black Power' Now Available In Infrared.
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Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from The Woman in Del Rey Crater
More Ideas
and Technology by Larry Niven
Tech news articles related to The Woman in Del Rey Crater
Tech news articles related to works by Larry Niven
Solar Electric Paint - Black Power-related
news articles:
- Niven's 'Black Power' Now Available In Infrared
- Cheap Paint-On Flexible Solar Panels
- Photovoltaic Paint On Steel Sheets By The Corus Group
- Spray-On Nano-Ink Solar Cells
- Solar Power Paint For Any Size Solar Cells
- Printable Liquid Solar Cells
- Transparent Solar Cell Film Has Clear Advantages
- Peel And Stick Thin Film Solar Cells
- Low Cost Spray-On Solar Cells
- Colloidal Quantum Dots Make Spray-On Solar Cells Possible
- Your Solar Electric Paint Is Ready, Larry Niven
- Mercedes Benz Solar Paint
| Pivotal Blackfly Electric Aircraft Lifts And Hovers |
| Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram |
| Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable |
| Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship |
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'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'
'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
