yeah, you need an industrial base to build from scratch. But that’s not that different if you want to build engines and oil refining from scratch. You’d have to start with a steam engine first and reboot industry from there.
for solar panels you need silicon with 99.99% degree purity. (10^-4 parts of impurities) you don’t get that easily with medieval peasant technology. you need a high-tech vacuum chamber and some chemical to do the purification for you, and also repeated heating/cooling down. Then you need to spray the heated gaseous silicon on a surface and let it cool down slowly so it crystallizes …
I would argue that the steam and even combustion engine are much easier to build than a solar panel, if you know how.
If he was given detailed instructions, I believe a mediaeval blacksmith could have build a steam engine. As soon as we go to 17th/18th century, we can probably build a combustion engine. Sure, it will be a bad engine, but it will do the job of burning refined oil and spinning.
But a solar panel? You need clean rooms, which need air purification, you need working knowledge of semiconductor manufacturing. Much harder than a solar thermal steam engine and a few lead or zinc batteries.
Look, I love the concept of solar power and I’m proud of my Australian state being one of the first jurisdictions in the world that will be 100% renewable. Buttttt…
It’s pretty hard to be cooler than running a car on millions of explosions powered by dinosaur juice
Raiding racks of solar panels and batteries is way less cool
Also would solar panels be harder to cobble together than an engine?
Nah, easier. At least if you have access to solar panels and metal for wiring.
Now making a solar panel from scratch, that’s a whole different story… At that point, just go with solar thermal low tech steam turbine or something
yeah, you need an industrial base to build from scratch. But that’s not that different if you want to build engines and oil refining from scratch. You’d have to start with a steam engine first and reboot industry from there.
And for the steel engine you’d need an advanced forge as well as the raw minerals with sufficient purity. As well as either coal or tons of wood
for solar panels you need silicon with 99.99% degree purity. (10^-4 parts of impurities) you don’t get that easily with medieval peasant technology. you need a high-tech vacuum chamber and some chemical to do the purification for you, and also repeated heating/cooling down. Then you need to spray the heated gaseous silicon on a surface and let it cool down slowly so it crystallizes …
I don’t think we’d be back to middle ages tech, it would be more like industrial revolution right?
I would argue that the steam and even combustion engine are much easier to build than a solar panel, if you know how.
If he was given detailed instructions, I believe a mediaeval blacksmith could have build a steam engine. As soon as we go to 17th/18th century, we can probably build a combustion engine. Sure, it will be a bad engine, but it will do the job of burning refined oil and spinning.
But a solar panel? You need clean rooms, which need air purification, you need working knowledge of semiconductor manufacturing. Much harder than a solar thermal steam engine and a few lead or zinc batteries.
Mad Max would be a lot different using those first primitive engines instead of the V8 and whatnot.
Are you telling me a load of PV panels strapped to a vehicle wouldn’t look cool?
Look, I love the concept of solar power and I’m proud of my Australian state being one of the first jurisdictions in the world that will be 100% renewable. Buttttt…
It’s pretty hard to be cooler than running a car on millions of explosions powered by dinosaur juice
But not the Eldritch Fusion Reactor in Space that’s in a state of constant explosion?
I’ll admit, if you can you’re tie that to your roof racks and storm off through the desert, that is much much cooler