REBUILDING WORLD

[bigpaul]

I think your missing the point Dev, its not that all steel, iron, machinery and other plant would be reduced to dust, eventually they will of course, but its more about the bits that go to make up that machinery, the "sum of its parts" lets say.
lets go back to that solar panel for a minute, now "solar panels can and do last for up to and sometimes beyond 3 decades, but the inverter, batteries and electronics you plug into it probably wont. anything that relies on batteries(even rechargeable ones)is guaranteed to be worthless once the battery chemicals wear out and there are no more to be had". unquote.
either your going to need a shed load of spare parts or the ability (and know how) to be able to make new ones in a world where there may be no power....which is why you need the solar panel in the first place