Dr. Robert (Bob) Novella

speaker

1,941 appearances 6 recordings 1 series first heard May 2026 last heard 19 Sep

Dr. Robert (Bob) Novella’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

Trend

recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 6 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 3.

Appearances

newest first · ▶ plays the moment

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe · The Skeptics Guide #872 - Mar 26 2022 podcast

I recommend it. voice-verified

Since then, space-based solar power has been increasingly taken seriously scientifically. voice-verified

And over the years and across the globe, there's been various committee, agency, departmental and governmental examinations, petitions, declarations, studies, plans, reports, proposals, research, announcements, patents, and small-scale technology demos. voice-verified

So yeah, this idea has been bandied about for decades. voice-verified

So is it going to happen? voice-verified

What's going to happen? voice-verified

How is it going to happen? voice-verified

The advantage of the space-based solar power though is pretty obvious if you think about it. voice-verified

When you compare it to solar panels on earth and other renewables like wind, as sophisticated as they're becoming – voice-verified

You've got near 24-7 access to the sun in space with no dips due to the sun setting or horrible overcast weather. voice-verified

And there's also the added bonus I hadn't heard of before of capturing even more solar energy that bounces back up. voice-verified

off the Earth's atmosphere. voice-verified

So that could also be just a little extra icing on the cake. voice-verified

Now, the disadvantages, though, I think are equally obvious. voice-verified

The biggest has always been the cost, right? voice-verified

Ever since the day we launched the first of anything into orbit, it's just been way too expensive to throw even tiny amounts of mass voice-verified

to even the lowest of low Earth orbits. voice-verified

It's just like so crazy expensive. voice-verified

Now, of course, if you've been following the space industry the past decade, it's really the cost per kilogram or per pound has dropped precipitously, especially in the past five years. voice-verified

And some countries think it's time to really, really start voice-verified

Showing 981–1000 of 1,941 · page 50 of 98