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"I've taken some stick for passages in Altered Carbon which people complained had sickened them, but then violence should be sickening."
- Richard Morgan
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| 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. |
| 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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More Ideas
and Technology from The Woman in Del Rey Crater
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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
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
| Bio-Mechanics And Micro-Robotic Flight |
| Star Trek Replicator For Space Station? |
| NASA iPhone Sensors Like Tricorder |
| Europa May Support Life |
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Gerry was dubious. She had seen abortive attempts at paralysis rays before.
Let your fingers - uh - your robot do the walking. And hopping.
