Sea based rectena

Ian,

I am not sure I agree with your points.

>
> The microwave frequencies proposed are pretty much
> the same
> frequency as you get in microwave ovens.
>

Not exactly.

Not all microwaves are absorbed by water. In fact,
microwave ovens use special frequencies which are
specifically tuned to maximize their water abosrption.

Other microwave frequencies are hardly absorbed at
all.

The SPS frequencies were specifically chosen to avoid
water absorption, that is the whole point.

>
> That's why rain absorbs and scatters it of course. A
> meter

Scattering and absorption are different.
Scattering (not absorption) is the cause of
"rain fade", where some satellite signals are
disrupted by heavy rain storms.

Ka band frequencies (20 GHZ and up) are highly
susceptible to water absorption, which is why they
hinder the use of GEO satellites at high latitudes.

> under? Forget it; unless you want to boil the water
> and
> go through the steam cycle, but then you'd have to
> deal
> with people justifiably talking about this death ray
> you'd built.
>

Is suspect that an SPS signal could penetrate some
distance through water before significant
attentuation.
But I do not have numbers handy.

Charles R.