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"We don't know who struck first, us or them, but we know that it was us that scorched the sky." -- Morpheus, The Matrix Electric power generation works by converting other forms of energy int...
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#2: Post edited
by
PinoBatch
·
2020-07-07T02:22:05Z (over 4 years ago)
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<blockquote><p>"We don't know who struck first, us or them, but we know that it was us that scorched the sky."</p><p>-- Morpheus, <em>The Matrix</em></p></blockquote><p>Electric power generation works by converting other forms of energy into electric power. Depending on how long sunlight is blocked, many of these other forms of input energy will likely run out.</p><ul><li>Reduce insolation for minutes, and photovoltaic and solar thermal plants produce no useful power.</li><li>Reduce insolation for weeks, and weather patterns change, interfering with wind and hydroelectric power.</li><li>Reduce insolation for months, and you block plant growth, interrupting the supply of corn for ethanol and soy and algae for biodiesel. At this scale, you start to get human starvation too, as the supply of food is likewise interrupted. Without humans to monitor generators, they start to fail within a week to six years, as illustrated in the speculative TV series <em>Life After People</em>. (See <a href="http://lifeafterpeople.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Power_plants" rel="nofollow">Life After People Wikia</a> for more info.)</li><li>Reduce insolation for thousands of years, and you block plant growth enough that decaying plants and algae cannot renew fossil fuels. Coal is essentially compressed peat, and petroleum and natural gas are algae that have been buried and pressure-cooked in anoxic conditions.</li><li>In theory, tidal and nuclear power would be less affected, so long as humans remain around to staff the generators.</li></ul>
- <blockquote>
- <p>"We don't know who struck first, us or them, but we know that it was us that scorched the sky."</p>
- <p>-- Morpheus, <em>The Matrix</em></p>
- </blockquote>
- <p>Electric power generation works by converting other forms of energy into electric power. Depending on how long sunlight is blocked, many of these other forms of input energy will likely run out.</p>
- <ul>
- <li>Reduce insolation for minutes, and photovoltaic and solar thermal plants produce no useful power.</li>
- <li>Reduce insolation for weeks, and weather patterns change, interfering with wind and hydroelectric power.</li>
- <li>Reduce insolation for months, and you block plant growth, interrupting the supply of corn for ethanol and soy and algae for biodiesel. At this scale, you start to get human starvation too, as the supply of food is likewise interrupted. Without humans to monitor generators, they start to fail within a week to six years, as illustrated in the speculative TV series <em>Life After People</em>. (See <a href="https://lifeafterpeople.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Power_plants" rel="nofollow">"Category:Power plants" on Life After People Wiki on Fandom</a>.)</li>
- <li>Reduce insolation for thousands of years, and you block plant growth enough that decaying plants and algae cannot renew fossil fuels. Coal is essentially compressed peat, and petroleum and natural gas are algae that have been buried and pressure-cooked in anoxic conditions.</li>
- <li>In theory, tidal and nuclear power would be less affected, so long as humans remain around to staff the generators.</li>
- </ul>
#1: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2020-07-07T01:11:59Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/a/3988 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/