So Apparently solar Roads might be a thing

[adventure_of_link]

Too bad that in order for this to go nationwide it'd be $56T -- about three and a half times of the current the national debt!!!

ALSO: SOLAR... FREAKING... ROADWAYS!!!!

Only problems I can see though are how well will that glass not slip? And what about weight... those big rigs do weigh quite a bit...

[Johan_H]

hello I don't want to click any dumb links, can someone tell me what the benefit of this is supposed to have over just building regular manageable fucking solar parks?

[grinvader]

hello I don't want to click any dumb links, can someone tell me what the benefit of this is supposed to have over just building regular manageable fucking solar parks?

The sheer surface makes it both interesting (since it covers so much, it could power a lot) and impractical (too expensive since it would be the hugest solar 'park' ever, plus terrible maintenance issues).

how well will that glass not slip? And what about weight... those big rigs do weigh quite a bit...

1- The initial bumpy design could have decent grip and water draining capabilities. A bigger issue is erosion quickly leading to no more bumps (maybe some years on small roads, couple months on expressways), and oily+dusty+wet glass being one of the shittiest surface you could ever drive onto.
2- The weight itself is less an issue than the dynamic distribution of it. If this system ever wants to prove itself, it'll have to take several real-life tests akin to a fully loaded 18-wheeler's emergency braking without a hitch, and a situation representative of cars speeding up and down rhythmically (think traffic jams stop'n'go) over several hours per day.

If it passes those, well... trash it anyway because noone will invest a country's whole budget into its roads when a cheaper alternative exists. It's not like asphalt is made of nucular fallout, lel. :p

[Gil_Hamilton]

hello I don't want to click any dumb links, can someone tell me what the benefit of this is supposed to have over just building regular manageable fucking solar parks?

The sheer surface makes it both interesting (since it covers so much, it could power a lot) and impractical (too expensive since it would be the hugest solar 'park' ever, plus terrible maintenance issues).

how well will that glass not slip? And what about weight... those big rigs do weigh quite a bit...

1- The initial bumpy design could have decent grip and water draining capabilities. A bigger issue is erosion quickly leading to no more bumps (maybe some years on small roads, couple months on expressways), and oily+dusty+wet glass being one of the shittiest surface you could ever drive onto.
2- The weight itself is less an issue than the dynamic distribution of it. If this system ever wants to prove itself, it'll have to take several real-life tests akin to a fully loaded 18-wheeler's emergency braking without a hitch, and a situation representative of cars speeding up and down rhythmically (think traffic jams stop'n'go) over several hours per day.

If it passes those, well... trash it anyway because noone will invest a country's whole budget into its roads when a cheaper alternative exists. It's not like asphalt is made of nucular fallout, lel. :p

I think you missed the bigger point, grinvader.

Yes, there are some very real obstacles, but on the other hand, how can you argue with such a detailed and nuanced plan as "SOLAR FREAKIN' ROADWAYS!"?

[Truth Unknown]

There is one key flaw, the lack of direct toaster support. I'm talking about having toasted bagels whenever I want right on the road. Especially on those stop-go traffic days when you're dying to make it to the office kitchen to try out the new poppy seed bagels that the grocery store finally got in but you didn't have enough time to do it at home.

[Gil_Hamilton]

There is one key flaw, the lack of direct toaster support. I'm talking about having toasted bagels whenever I want right on the road. Especially on those stop-go traffic days when you're dying to make it to the office kitchen to try out the new poppy seed bagels that the grocery store finally got in but you didn't have enough time to do it at home.

For real. Especially since legacy asphalt roads have done this for YEARS, even if it's only seasonal.

[grinvader]

how can you argue with such a detailed and nuanced plan as "SOLAR FREAKIN' ROADWAYS!"?

I counter this with my mighty solar freaking p◯n◯s.

[adventure_of_link]

If it passes those, well... trash it anyway because noone will invest a country's whole budget into its roads when a cheaper alternative exists.

try over three and a half times the US National Debt... as/is they raised about $1.5M right? That's enough to hire their enginnering team IIRC, but for this to go nationwide they need over $56T..

[megamanzer0]

well closer to 2 mil now

[megamanzer0]

the Rebuttal

http://solarroadways.com/clearingthefreakinair.shtml

[odditude]

i remain intrigued and cautiously optimistic.

the potential reduction in maintenance costs alone (not needing hundreds of manhours of labor to do temporary lane painting in construction areas, for instance) has my attention.

[megamanzer0]

I think they need to scrap the LED idea though the Light pollution would be terrible and being in the sun all the time would kill their life expectancy.

[Gil_Hamilton]

i remain intrigued and cautiously optimistic.

the potential reduction in maintenance costs alone (not needing hundreds of manhours of labor to do temporary lane painting in construction areas, for instance) has my attention.

Temporary lane painting? Is that what they do in places too poor to afford traffic cones?

[odditude]

i remain intrigued and cautiously optimistic.

the potential reduction in maintenance costs alone (not needing hundreds of manhours of labor to do temporary lane painting in construction areas, for instance) has my attention.

Temporary lane painting? Is that what they do in places too poor to afford traffic cones?

it's what they do when there's a project which takes two weeks or months instead of two hours.

[Gil_Hamilton]

i remain intrigued and cautiously optimistic.

the potential reduction in maintenance costs alone (not needing hundreds of manhours of labor to do temporary lane painting in construction areas, for instance) has my attention.

Temporary lane painting? Is that what they do in places too poor to afford traffic cones?

it's what they do when there's a project which takes two weeks or months instead of two hours.

Not here.

[kode54]

Nor here. Here, they just set up cones and ribbons between them, and have dedicated workers on each end of the single lane, directing traffic with Slow/Stop signs.

[odditude]

try doing that on I-95 or the Schuylkill and you'd end up with a lot of roadkill construction workers.

[Gil_Hamilton]

try doing that on I-95 or the Schuylkill and you'd end up with a lot of roadkill construction workers.

Works on 30 and 635.
And how does paint stop people but cones won't?

[odditude]

i was replying to kode when i talked about roadkill.

cones don't work that well when you're shifting all of the lanes of traffic, not just shutting down one lane. around here, it's usually a new paint job + jersey barriers on the side being worked on.

[Gil_Hamilton]

Cones work here.

[kode54]

Oh, you meant expressways. In that case, many of ours are pretty much permanently divided by jersey barriers.

[Gil_Hamilton]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEpGC4j7Sxc

SOLAR FRICKIN' ROADS... are just as a terrible idea as we predicted in this thread five years ago.

As a high point: A chinese roadway installation had one of the panels STOLEN just a few days after it was opened to traffic... except it was never stolen. They couldn't find the panel because it was shattered and ground into dust. As opposed to the rest of the panels, which are still present, but doing about fuck-all.

[odditude]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEpGC4j7Sxc

whatthefuck

[nintendo_nerd]

Gee, with an idea like this, what could possibly go wrong??

[Gil_Hamilton]

Gee, with an idea like this, what could possibly go wrong??

Only the most predictable things(read as: everything)