From: Onno Meyer > > Those are the rules. House rules are always an option, but I try to > avoid them. Much easier to tell someone "default TL9, look at the > books" ...
You can't really avoid house rules when things are so totally unrelated -- typical solar power satellite schemes involve rectennas with a size in *kilometers*. The basic requirement for power transmission is (transmitter size)*(receiver size) >= (range)*(wavelength). The reasons for using masers rather than lasers have to do with efficiency (microwave transmitter->rectenna can have an efficiency of 90+%, modern laser->single-wavelength photocell is under 1%) and ability to pass through the atmosphere (clouds won't bother a maser with proper wavelength choices). The first is a simple technical limitation, the second is not but there are probably shorter wavelengths that would work.
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