Solar panels are installed along the overhead lighting systems of major bike routes to power the sidewalks of level areas in large cities.

Picture one-way pedestrian cycle/skateboard/rollerblade causeways with gritty rubbery textured surfaces.
The two inches of depth beneath this elastic surface is comprised of a mesh of counter x-pattern woven sine-wave-looking bi-metallic filaments sandwiched between a very dense under layer and rubbery upper surface. These filaments are sealed from the elements in replaceable segments.

The cross-layered bi-metallic strips will, when given current, rather violently straighten or bend depending on, well, lots of stuff... but if they need to fight each other in order to straighten beneath a flexible surface, and if the electric current only affects certain spots at certain times, then they will act as a series of pantagraphs which should reach several inches in height when fully extended.

Light beam sensors between lamp posts could evaluate the speed of a cyclist/anybody-else-on-wheels and gradually increase the speed of the wave-form to a moderate rate which can be exceeded by anyone wishing to go faster, this would in turn deactivate any bi-metallic wave under that particular individual as they would be moving too quickly to set off the sensors.

If they wish to pass, well, I guess they'd have to ride over that moving speed-bump is all.

Since temperature difference is what expands or contracts the shapes of the strips, simply cutting the power in any location should cause a fairly quick contraction due to the ambient temperature of the surrounding shaded earth.

Why would we ever want to spend the money it would take to build such a system in any given city though?
Because far more people would cycle of course.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 10 2014

//Because far more people would cycle of course.//

Ouch, that hertz.
-- ytk, Jun 10 2014


Could you use this to make the path uphill, both ways
-- RayfordSteele, Jun 11 2014



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