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145 results found
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| High-altitude solar cells 
I was thinking if you could make flexible solar panels and cover a high-altitude balloon with them, you could have sunlight continously generating energy without having to worry about cloud cover or fear of it being damaged by thunder, lightning, tornadoes, etc.The light intensity would higher too, no?The problem would be how to send that energy back down. Any ideas? High energy laser pulses? Send up water and then releasing down compressed hydrogen tanks? Compressed air tanks?Reward: no rights reserved. 
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| Community Centers
There could be more public community centers in America that people could visit just to exist with other people. These community centers could be open 24/7 to accomodate people of all sleep schedules. Especially as we become more dependent on technology, and spend most of our time sitting in front of a screen, why do we have to sit isolated in our own homes to do it?In college, I spent most of my time in such wifi enabled common areas, and quite enjoyed it. The most similar thing we have to that right now that I see are coffee shops. these are nice, but it is a requirement to buy a drink in order to sit there, and seating is usually limited. There are also public libraries, but they tend to be dirty, and talking isn't allowed. Obviously, a big challenge would be in keeping the place from being decimated by random miscreants, and keeping it open even though it doesn't offer a product or service. Perhaps the supervisors could charge a small admittance fee, and could be free to remove from the premises any people who destroy the property.Reward: A more connected community.
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| PHOTOSYNTHESIZING ROOFING MATERIAL
This is my wildest idea and would probably require giant strides in technology but here goes:Did you ever notice how much cooler it is under a tree than under any other sort of roof or covering? My theory is that this is because conventional roof coverings absorb and then radiate heat/energy downward producing a space that while it may be shaded, is not much cooler than the surrounding area. Trees on the other hand are absorbing the energy and using it for photosynthesis. Since the energy is being used and directed to the nourishment of the tree, heat does not radiate downward and it produces a much cooler space beneath.My idea would be to produce a roofing material that is embedded or covered with photosynthesizing material. The material would absorb the sunlight/energy and produce sugars or perhaps even electricity that could be collected or used elsewhere, thereby removing the energy and preventing it from radiating down to the area below the roof.I see this as a possible covering for homes, businesses, permanent patio covers in homes or parks, etc. When used in buildings it should dramatically reduce cooling costs and, if it is possible to convert the output to electricity, it could even offset some of the cost of installation.Reward: Installation of the material on my house and any future homes I move to.
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