Dr. E.A. Farber Sunshine Superman

(Page 2 of 2)

November/December 1973
 
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Yes, but is it practical to try to utilize the sun's rays to heat our houses, drive our engines, cook our food and otherwise power the industrialized society in which we live? "It depends on what you mean by 'practical'," says Dr. Farber. "What's practical to one man is not practical to another."

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"We now know how to use the sun to provide all the forms of energy which we need in our daily lives. We can warm a house, heat water, air-condition buildings, produce electricity and so on. We've already done these things. We've even converted a Corvair automobile to run on batteries which can be charged by solar cells. Theoretically, at least, we could replace our present fossil-fueled transportation system with a sun-powered electrical system. Instead of gasoline stations, you'd drive your car into solar battery-charging stations. The attendants there would lift out your discharged batteries, give you a freshly charged set and you'd drive right on.

"Now this would be a very 'practical' way of doing business if you started it from scratch. It's pollution-free and it makes use of a virtually inexhaustible energy resource. But the point is that we're not starting from scratch. We're already set up to power our personal transportation with gasoline, and as long as we have gasoline and the government doesn't ration it, I'm sure we'll find it more 'practical' to keep right on using gasoline until we run out."

Maybe so. But in the meantime, Dr. Farber and his staff and the students in the classes conducted at the Solar Energy Lab are going to continue right on developing and operating sun-powered hardware of many kinds.

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