high quality kids electric cars image
Q. This is a fair quesion, I am totally ignorent on why and I don't know the benefits of this spending. Also wouldn't it be better to spend money on medicine and things like that which have much higher chance of making money back?
Answer
Out of a $2.4 trillion budget, less than 0.8% is spent on the entire space program.
The cutting edge technologies developed for space travel are a major source of invention for products and technologies here on earth. I'll give you a short list... and some links.
SEMICONDUCTOR CUBING
AIR QUALITY MONITOR
Advanced keyboards, Customer Service Software, Database Management System, Laser Surveying, Aircraft controls, Lightweight Compact Disc, Expert System Software, Microcomputers, and Design Graphics
ENRICHED BABY FOOD
WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM
SCRATCH-RESISTANT LENSES
GOLF BALL AERODYNAMICS
ATHLETIC SHOES
Dustbuster, shock-absorbing helmets, home security systems, smoke detectors, flat panel televisions, high-density batteries, trash compactors, food packaging and freeze-dried technology, cool sportswear, sports bras, hair styling appliances, fogless ski goggles, self-adjusting sunglasses, composite golf clubs, hang gliders, art preservation, and quartz crystal timing equipment.
SOLAR ENERGY
WEATHER FORECASTING AID
TELEMETRY SYSTEMS
FIRE RESISTANT MATERIAL
Whale identification method, environmental analysis, noise abatement, pollution measuring devices, pollution control devices, smokestack monitor, radioactive leak detector, earthquake prediction system, sewage treatment, energy saving air conditioning, and air purification
DIGITAL IMAGING BREAST BIOPSY SYSTEM
BREAST CANCER DETECTION
LASER ANGIOPLASTY
PROGRAMMABLE PACEMAKER
OCULAR SCREENING
Arteriosclerosis detection, ultrasound scanners, automatic insulin pump, portable x-ray device, invisible braces, dental arch wire, palate surgery technology, clean room apparel, implantable heart aid, MRI, bone analyzer, and cataract surgery tools.
MICROLASERS
ENGINE LUBRICANT
ADVANCED WELDING TORCH
Gasoline vapor recovery, self-locking fasteners, machine tool software, laser wire stripper, lubricant coating process, wireless communications, engine coatings, and engine design.
EMERGENCY RESCUE CUTTERS
FIREMAN'S AIR TANKS
SELF-RIGHTING LIFE RAFT
Storm warning services (Doppler radar), firefighters' radios, lead poison detection, fire detector, flame detector, corrosion protection coating, protective clothing, and robotic hands
Safer bridges, emission testing, airline wheelchairs, electric car, auto design, methane-powered vehicles, windshear prediction, and aircraft design analysis.
I could go on.. but hey... I ran out of money to inform you of other benefits.... :-)
http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/en/kids/spinoffs2.shtml
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000269.shtml
www.thespaceplace.com
Out of a $2.4 trillion budget, less than 0.8% is spent on the entire space program.
The cutting edge technologies developed for space travel are a major source of invention for products and technologies here on earth. I'll give you a short list... and some links.
SEMICONDUCTOR CUBING
AIR QUALITY MONITOR
Advanced keyboards, Customer Service Software, Database Management System, Laser Surveying, Aircraft controls, Lightweight Compact Disc, Expert System Software, Microcomputers, and Design Graphics
ENRICHED BABY FOOD
WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM
SCRATCH-RESISTANT LENSES
GOLF BALL AERODYNAMICS
ATHLETIC SHOES
Dustbuster, shock-absorbing helmets, home security systems, smoke detectors, flat panel televisions, high-density batteries, trash compactors, food packaging and freeze-dried technology, cool sportswear, sports bras, hair styling appliances, fogless ski goggles, self-adjusting sunglasses, composite golf clubs, hang gliders, art preservation, and quartz crystal timing equipment.
SOLAR ENERGY
WEATHER FORECASTING AID
TELEMETRY SYSTEMS
FIRE RESISTANT MATERIAL
Whale identification method, environmental analysis, noise abatement, pollution measuring devices, pollution control devices, smokestack monitor, radioactive leak detector, earthquake prediction system, sewage treatment, energy saving air conditioning, and air purification
DIGITAL IMAGING BREAST BIOPSY SYSTEM
BREAST CANCER DETECTION
LASER ANGIOPLASTY
PROGRAMMABLE PACEMAKER
OCULAR SCREENING
Arteriosclerosis detection, ultrasound scanners, automatic insulin pump, portable x-ray device, invisible braces, dental arch wire, palate surgery technology, clean room apparel, implantable heart aid, MRI, bone analyzer, and cataract surgery tools.
MICROLASERS
ENGINE LUBRICANT
ADVANCED WELDING TORCH
Gasoline vapor recovery, self-locking fasteners, machine tool software, laser wire stripper, lubricant coating process, wireless communications, engine coatings, and engine design.
EMERGENCY RESCUE CUTTERS
FIREMAN'S AIR TANKS
SELF-RIGHTING LIFE RAFT
Storm warning services (Doppler radar), firefighters' radios, lead poison detection, fire detector, flame detector, corrosion protection coating, protective clothing, and robotic hands
Safer bridges, emission testing, airline wheelchairs, electric car, auto design, methane-powered vehicles, windshear prediction, and aircraft design analysis.
I could go on.. but hey... I ran out of money to inform you of other benefits.... :-)
http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/en/kids/spinoffs2.shtml
http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000269.shtml
www.thespaceplace.com
How familiar are you with using solar electricity to power a residential house?
skattered0
I was wondering how much the average person knows about using the suns energy to power the average residential home...
Do you know of any countries that already use the sun to power homes?
please tell me where you are from as well please...
thankyou!
Answer
Hey 0077, to answer your primary question, I am quite familiar with solar power. We've been powering our home from the wind and sun for 11 years now, and for the last 5 or 6 years, we've been going into the local schools and doing seminars on the subject. In some cases, the schools have loaded a bus with kids and brought them out to our home to see it first hand. As for your second question, the average homeowner knows about as much about solar power as they do about the furnace in their basement. Unfortunately, this is where the technology has fallen down. Lots of people want to build a new home, and talk to the builder about solar power. Frequently they are told, "Solar doesn't work," or, "Solar is prohibitively expensive." Generally this is all they need to hear, and the panels are taken off the house plan.
Solar is not for everyone, or everyplace. Just because a home has solar panels does not mean they don't have an electric bill, and that says nothing to the fact that a stand alone solar home that does not have access to utility power has to live with a finite amount of electricity. What do they do on a cloudy week? Most stand alone homes, like ours was, use both wind and solar. The reason for this is that the two compliment each other quite well. In the summer, we have long sunny days, but little wind. In the fall and winter, we have short cloudy days, and high winds. When you have a shortage of one, there is generally a surplus of the other. Trying to decide between the two technologies is like trying to decide between a 3 passenger pickup truck and an 8 passenger van as your sole family car. Each has its advantages, but it probably makes sense for a two car family to have one of each.
There is also the fact that lots of people like to grow their own tomatoes, even if it is cheaper to buy them at the market. They have to learn all about watering, bugs, soil ph and weeding. People who live in a solar powered home have a similar curse, they can tell you just how much sun shined last November, and how much power the stereo uses down to the last watthour. Any self respecting homeowner wouldn't bother with the solar power, or the tomatoes, they would simply buy vegetables at the store, and electricity from the power company, and then sit home and complain about the price and quality of each. That used to be me, now I'm the other guy.
So no, the average homeowner does not know much about solar power, or furnaces. Most homes have furnaces, not many have solar panels. I wish they had both. In the 11 years we have had both, I can tell you that once solar power is installed, it is generally care free. We are on our third wind turbine here, and even though the last one is working better than the first two, it has had its moments. It has shut down 3 times, and had to be repaired twice. In all that time, my first solar panel has continued to make electricity, and I've never turned a screw on it or added a drop of oil. Yet, everyone I talk to about renewable energy wants to learn more about wind turbines it seems. They are neat, they move, they seem to have their own personality. They just require tall towers and routine maintenance. So does a car, and almost everyone has one of those too.
Many countries use solar power, almost all of them in fact, you just never hear about it, or see the panels in service. In the US alone there are over 100,000 homes and businesses using some level of solar power right now to operate at least some of their loads. That number is getting bigger as you read this by the way. I'll list some sources you can check out below if you want to learn more. Take care 0077, Rudydoo
Hey 0077, to answer your primary question, I am quite familiar with solar power. We've been powering our home from the wind and sun for 11 years now, and for the last 5 or 6 years, we've been going into the local schools and doing seminars on the subject. In some cases, the schools have loaded a bus with kids and brought them out to our home to see it first hand. As for your second question, the average homeowner knows about as much about solar power as they do about the furnace in their basement. Unfortunately, this is where the technology has fallen down. Lots of people want to build a new home, and talk to the builder about solar power. Frequently they are told, "Solar doesn't work," or, "Solar is prohibitively expensive." Generally this is all they need to hear, and the panels are taken off the house plan.
Solar is not for everyone, or everyplace. Just because a home has solar panels does not mean they don't have an electric bill, and that says nothing to the fact that a stand alone solar home that does not have access to utility power has to live with a finite amount of electricity. What do they do on a cloudy week? Most stand alone homes, like ours was, use both wind and solar. The reason for this is that the two compliment each other quite well. In the summer, we have long sunny days, but little wind. In the fall and winter, we have short cloudy days, and high winds. When you have a shortage of one, there is generally a surplus of the other. Trying to decide between the two technologies is like trying to decide between a 3 passenger pickup truck and an 8 passenger van as your sole family car. Each has its advantages, but it probably makes sense for a two car family to have one of each.
There is also the fact that lots of people like to grow their own tomatoes, even if it is cheaper to buy them at the market. They have to learn all about watering, bugs, soil ph and weeding. People who live in a solar powered home have a similar curse, they can tell you just how much sun shined last November, and how much power the stereo uses down to the last watthour. Any self respecting homeowner wouldn't bother with the solar power, or the tomatoes, they would simply buy vegetables at the store, and electricity from the power company, and then sit home and complain about the price and quality of each. That used to be me, now I'm the other guy.
So no, the average homeowner does not know much about solar power, or furnaces. Most homes have furnaces, not many have solar panels. I wish they had both. In the 11 years we have had both, I can tell you that once solar power is installed, it is generally care free. We are on our third wind turbine here, and even though the last one is working better than the first two, it has had its moments. It has shut down 3 times, and had to be repaired twice. In all that time, my first solar panel has continued to make electricity, and I've never turned a screw on it or added a drop of oil. Yet, everyone I talk to about renewable energy wants to learn more about wind turbines it seems. They are neat, they move, they seem to have their own personality. They just require tall towers and routine maintenance. So does a car, and almost everyone has one of those too.
Many countries use solar power, almost all of them in fact, you just never hear about it, or see the panels in service. In the US alone there are over 100,000 homes and businesses using some level of solar power right now to operate at least some of their loads. That number is getting bigger as you read this by the way. I'll list some sources you can check out below if you want to learn more. Take care 0077, Rudydoo
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Title Post: Why is so much money allocated to space research?
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