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_fuck_me_sideways_ t1_ixisx3e wrote

Reply to comment by Qcumber69 in China says it will use the Tiangong Space Station to test the transmission of space-based solar power to Earth. by lughnasadh

Does it transmit heat primarily? Or is it more like a particle cannon? If the former, then maybe call it a haser.

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mescalelf t1_ixkgzvy wrote

Microwave LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation), known as a MASER—same acronym, but Microwave instead of Light. In practice, a MASER is a type of LASER. We can use them to transmit energy (in the form of photons), which may then be absorbed by some kind of receiving transducer. In the case of beam-transmission of power, the receiving transducer is an antenna—most likely a very large array of ‘em.

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