Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

One note, your second claim is not entirely true - while land vehicles are a ways from being feasible to power with photovoltaics (although I would have to do the math for trains, which may be close), we already have primarily [1] and exclusively [2] solar-powered aircraft.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Impulse#Solar_Impulse_2_...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helios_Prototype



Those aircraft limp along at a tenth the speed of a typical commercial flight. That's the main reason I said "effectively". I mean, there are useless pure-solar cars too.

Trains might be closer but when single locomotives are measured in megawatts I'm not very confident.




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: