Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2003 14:21:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl at KeithLynch.net>
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Lunch with Buzz
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

"Ted White" <twhite8 at cox.net> wrote:
> There's nothing "harmless" about microwave radiation of sufficient
> power.  Whether you stand in front of a radar unit, or figure how to
> run your microwave oven with the door open, the result will be harmful.

You mean, of sufficient power *density*.  50 watts per square meter
is the official limit for long-term exposure.  At that power density
a rectenna field five miles on a side can pull in over 3 gigawatts.
This field can double as farmland with no harm to the crops growing
there.

Nor is there any danger that the power density can accidentally become
higher.  How focused the beam can be is limited by the size of the
transmitting antenna on the satellite.

> This strikes me as potentially more dangerous than any
> power-generating nuclear reactor.

Nuclear reactors produce ionizing radiation, such as alpha, beta,
and gamma rays, and neutrons, which don't just heat things, but
break molecules apart.  They also produce waste matter which remains
dangerously radioactive for centuries.  They are enticing targets
for terrorists.  While I think these are all managable risks, the
government obviously disagrees with me.  No new power reactors have
been ordered in thirty years.

They can also be used to produce material for making nuclear weapons,
which gives everyone a strong interest in ensuring that unfriendly and
unstable countries not use nuclear reactors, no matter how much they
need energy.

Solar power satellites share none of these disadvantages.
--
Keith F. Lynch - kfl at keithlynch.net - http://keithlynch.net/
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