[laxcoach]

I had a conversation with successful men last week, one of whom is a surgeon.

They were lamenting the fact that electric cars don’t do the obvious: cover the car in solar panels so that it is always charging and never loses power.

I said there isn’t enough surface area to capture that much energy. The response was uniform: they need a breakthrough in solar cell tech to capture that energy.

I politely explained that there is a finite maximum amount of energy that hits each square inch of area and it doesn’t approach the energy requirements for travel. And... I was told it didn’t matter. It is only a matter of investment.

Shake my damn head and move on

[RegulatorCountry]

There are conventional solar panels now that are 500 watts apiece. People are setting up large motorhomes with the roof covered in solar panels, and the system actually powers the whole rig for extended camping without shore power. It’s more feasible than you think. Here’s an example from one of the best-known and most accomplished companies doing this, out in AZ:

http://precisionrv.com/2017/08/24/2000-watt-1200-amp-hour-newmar-motorhome-solar-power-system/

[Red Badger]

Doctors are some of the most ignorant people there are.

Reason is they spent practically all their time from HS to Internship learning to be doctors at the exclusion of all else..................

[Red Badger]

Here’s a little fact you can throw at them the next time:

The total amount of power falling upon the Earth’s surface from the Sun is about 1kW per square meter, or about enough to power a hair drier...........but only on sunny cloudless days................

[backwoods-engineer]

They were lamenting the fact that electric cars don’t do the obvious: cover the car in solar panels so that it is always charging and never loses power. I said there isn’t enough surface area to capture that much energy. The response was uniform: they need a breakthrough in solar cell tech to capture that energy. I politely explained that there is a finite maximum amount of energy that hits each square inch of area and it doesn’t approach the energy requirements for travel. And... I was told it didn’t matter. It is only a matter of investment.

You can't deal with people like this. People like this are why we are slowly descending back into the Dark Ages.