Water provides hydrogen and oxygen moloucules, and atmospheric gasses provide alot of the rest. Considering much of a plant is carbohydrates, I can see how its (generally) done. Thanks, dead Carl Sagan!

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I doubt the air inside a nondescript desert warehouse is any different from the air outside it. It 'breathes' (or absorbs) Atmospheric carbon, and probably nitrogen, which probably accounts for the vast majority of elements it needs for its organic compunds.

Cellulose, sugar, alcohol are all the same three atoms in different combinations.

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"Kid, you're gonna have to eat 15 sand worms in 15 days."

"What the fuck? Fuck you."

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"Kid, you high."

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And Yeah, this should happen.

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Um, no, it's 90,000 square kilometers. 300 times 300 equals 90,000.

Personally I'd rather have the solar energy plants scattered as diffusely around the world as possible. Concentration has drawbacks.

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The problem is that you keep putting the square at the end. 300km² = 90000km. not 90000km².

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????

How can a unit of area equal a unit of length? It's 90,000 square kilometers.

You are misreading what 300 by 300 kilometers means. That's not 300 square kilometers. 300 by 300 is telling us that the area is 90,000 square kilometers. Nothing personal, but I don't think I'll let you do my taxes next year.

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I'm misreading it?

300km X 300km does not equal 300km² somehow?

explain this.

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Just use any calculator.

Enter in 300X300.

Now Enter in 300, then hit the x² button.

What number do you get?

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A 3km x 3km area = 9 km^2.

CORP! I NEED YOUR HELP EXPLAINING THIS IN A CALM FASHION BEFORE I 'SPLODE

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Am I being trolled? Someone take me away!

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Yes, you're misreading it. "By" means "multiply the first number with the second number to get the area in square units." In other words you apply the word "square" after you do the calculation, not before like you're doing.

The same applies for cubic units. A volume of 100 by 100 by 100 meters equals 1,000,000 cubic meters.

This is pretty basic stuff. I suggest you consult Wikipedia or the search engines for some pages about how this arithmetic works.

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Ok, i understand that 300km X 300km = 300km^2.

300km X 300km ≠ 90000km^2

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And please, don't insult me. You are agreeing with what I am saying. it is not 90,000km^2.

90,000km^2 = 90000km X 90000km.

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*hug*

I love you.

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Gladly :D

Boas, it was already explained. I had the units messed up.

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What a drab greenhouse, huh??

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The real question with the "seawater greenhouse in action in the Oman desert" isn't whether it looks as cool as the beautiful CGI illustration, but whether or not it's profitable. If it is, there's a chance.

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That still leaves the possibility that it's not cost-effective, of course.

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Hey crashed, this one's for you! :P

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It's worth bearing in mind that the whole "90000 km^2 of the Sahara" thing was illustrative-- it doesn't have to be the Sahara, or a single 90000 km^2 installation. Any otherwise unused sunny coastal desert is a potential site, and things only have to make economic sense for that particular location. California might be a bit too overpopulated at this point for this, but Baja California sure isn't-- and the power grids are already linked.

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