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Also, the emittance of the panels at thermal wavelengths is important. What you want is a panel that converts wavelengths shorter than the bandgap cutoff at high efficiency, reflects near and mid IR at longer wavelengths, but has high emissivity in the far IR at wavelengths where the atmosphere isn't too opaque.


Not like optimising for this make much sense when we haven't even covered 1% of land yet.

Maybe our great-great-great-great grandkids can think on it, will be so disappointed if they haven't mastered terraforming yet.


Could you convert electricity into a infrared laser and beam the energy into space?


A laser beam carries no entropy, so I don't see the point of this.

Using a laser beam to dissipate heat is one of those classic hard science fiction bloopers. David Brin is one guilty party (in "Sundiver").


You can skip the solar panel entirely and just lay out mirrors, or just spray the ground with white paint.




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