Yes, we use aluminum cable with steel cores.
Why do you say copper lines are dismal? Have we anything that comes remotely
near them for energy transmission. Unfortunately not. If one could transmit
power 100 miles with an efficiency of the order of 90-95% as is the
situation, then why would one use lasers at possibly 2% efficiency
(optimistic) conversion and over such a distance, collect about 1-2% of that
and convert it back to electricity with a device with 20% efficiency?
Perfectly co-linear lasers do not exist so there is beam spreading. There
is also energy loss due to scattering in the medium. I doubt whether a
controlled atmosphere with any gas would do. A vacuum would be better but in
either case- how straight a tube can you make over a long distance? A small
kink would result in disaster as the beam would destroy the pipe. In
addition, you are then looking at the capital costs involved which would
make overhead power lines look cheap.
Changes that have taken place with power lines are the use of bundled
conductors and also the development of higher voltage systems as well as
reactive controls for such systems. The basic "wires hung from insulators"
still is very good compared to anything else.
Admittedly my own experience with high power lasers is limited to
association with a person who built and tested such lasers. A 20KW CO2 laser
needed a large power supply that in itself took up about twice the volume
of an ordinary living room and needed connections to a cooling system that
was intended for building cooling. The advantage was that it could
concentrate a lot of energy in a small area- so could burn through firebrick
quite easily, weld aluminum to stainless steel and cut or weld pipe such as
used oil pipelines (it's intended purpose). --
Don Kelly
[email protected]
remove the X to answer
----------------------------