Weather and the Atmosphere
How does weather affect power beamed from orbit?
Chapter summary
very little for microwaves, a great deal for light.
Key takeaways
- 1
At 2.45 and 5.8 GHz, the atmosphere absorbs only a few per cent even through cloud and moderate rain; heavy rain at 5.8 GHz adds a few per cent more.
- 2
Infrared lasers and near-infrared beams, by contrast, are blocked by cloud and attenuated by haze and humidity.
- 3
That is why microwave designs target grids, which need near-continuous power, while laser designs target sites where receivers can be placed in dry climates, where several receivers spread across weather zones can share the load, or where partial availability is still valuable.
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