Value chain · CLM-0045
In plain terms
The apparent conflict between 12 and 23 was not an error. The underlying study gave a range, and the figure adopted sits near the top of it.
The claim as recorded
There is no arithmetic discrepancy between the Rice threshold and the adopted figure: the July 1978 Rice report (SRC-108), the successor to reference 26, states 12 mW/cm2 within a factor of two, giving a band of about 6 to 24 mW/cm2, and the adopted 23 mW/cm2 sits inside that band, close to its upper bound. Against reference 26 itself (SRC-587, September 1977), which states approximately 20 mW/cm2 with no band, the adopted 23 is 1.15 times the reference's figure.
Scope and limits
Resolves the arithmetic only. It does not establish that selecting the top of the band was appropriate, and no source found gives a reason for that selection. Reference 26's full report is not held. FALSE SINCE 2026-09-19: both reports are held, SRC-587 (the September 1977 reference 26) and SRC-108 (its July 1978 successor). The band arithmetic stands; its attribution moves to the 1978 report, where the 12 mW/cm2 and the factor of two are stated. Reference 26 itself states approximately 20 mW/cm2 with no band, so against the document ER-0023 cites the adopted 23 is 1.15x the reference's figure rather than a point inside a 6 to 24 band (CLM-1094, SRC-587, 2026-09-19).
What it assumes
that "within a factor of two" means a multiplicative band of 0.5x to 2x, which is the conventional reading
Where it comes from
This is the project's own working, shown in full:
The 1978 report's stated uncertainty is "within a factor of two" about 12 mW/cm2, so the band is 6 to 24 mW/cm2. The Reference System adopted approximately 23 mW/cm2, which is within the band at about 0.96 of its upper bound.
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-010 not published in this release
- Supersedes
- CLM-0035 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-0045
CLM-0045, Energy Aperture, as of 2026-09.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-085
- CLM-0013The paper that modern UK studies rely on for the beam figure calls anything below 1 kilowatt per square metre safe, with 230 watts per...CLM-0020The original 1978 design set the beam at 230 watts per square metre in the middle of the receiving site, about one twenty-third of that at...CLM-0023In the 1978 reference design, two limits set the size of the transmitter and the receiving site: how much heat the transmitter can shed...CLM-0039The 1978 report set the figure to protect radio and navigation systems from a disturbed ionosphere, called the number theoretical and...CLM-0101The 1978 contract required the researchers to report fixes if ionospheric disturbance pushed the pilot-beam phase error past 2 to 3...CLM-0137In four major space solar power studies from 1978 to 2007, none put a number on how much of the beam's energy would be lost if the beam...CLM-0138The original 1978 government design for beaming power down from space adds up all the expected energy losses to get 63% overall efficiency...CLM-0182When two different research teams assessed the exact same 1978 space solar power design, the older accounting method (which spreads...More on the source page.
- Also from SRC-108
- CLM-0043The study the 1978 reference system cites put the level where the beam may start to disturb the ionosphere at about 20 milliwatts per...CLM-0066The figure adopted in 1978 was higher than each of the lower figures in the studies it cited, though those figures were themselves...CLM-0072The 1978 study gives 12 milliwatts per square centimetre for runaway, give or take a factor of two, and says no threshold can be set in the...CLM-0082The formula is the right one for the conditions space solar power would create. It was written for this case, not borrowed from a different...CLM-0083The formula is the right type but nobody has said how far it can be pushed, and at space solar power frequencies the wave is about 200...CLM-0085The 1978 formula does not give a threshold. It relates threshold power to the width of the plasma structures produced, so getting a single...CLM-0101The 1978 contract required the researchers to report fixes if ionospheric disturbance pushed the pilot-beam phase error past 2 to 3...CLM-0132A 1978 NASA-funded study calculated that a beam of about 12 milliwatts per square centimetre at 2.45 GHz would be the point where the...More on the source page.
- Also from SRC-587
- CLM-0043The study the 1978 reference system cites put the level where the beam may start to disturb the ionosphere at about 20 milliwatts per...CLM-1094The 1978 Rice report the archive holds is the follow-on to the 1977 one that the reference system cites, and the 1977 report, obtained the...