The ultimate work out flight. Pedal faster or die.
Posted on 11/14/2013 8:45:44 AM PST by Armen Hareyan
NO
Given the current state of battery technology, it is impossible. Without batteries for power, it would have to be powered by some yet-to-be-invented power source.
The ultimate work out flight. Pedal faster or die.
And all these new batteries needed would need to be mined, produced, and disposed of. How does that “help” the environment?
“Where is the electricity coming from?”
From three possible sources:
1. A really long extension cord.
2. A magic battery.
3. A fuel cell orders of magnitude better than now exist.
Look, LOOK!
A Flying Unicorn!
I came across an article in a Russian Aerospace mag some years ago, where they were also looking at this concept. I think the article made the additional claim that there were some stealth characteristics to the design.
I love Unicorns!
Think of it as an airplane w/o an gas tanks. The benefits of not transporting the weight of an energy reserve would be huge!
Using energy to super heat the moisture of air into thrust or spinning many smaller turbines at high rpm might do it.
My battery RC aircraft outperform the gas planes hands down.
Yes, it is possible...someday!
Pixie dust, of course!
“Control tower... we have a fire on board”
Are gas airplane engines that bad?
I mean we’re talking 9:1 energy density difference.
Awesome! Aim a 400 Megawatt death ray at a tin can full of passengers. What could go wrong?
...Some would say he is just part of a new wave of inventors, envelope-edge pushers, risk takers...
In some ways he reminds me of Bill Lear who invented the car radio, airplane radio-compass and autopilot, and the eight-track tape player. His most famous invention being the Learjet, which became the world's first supplier of corporate jets. Yet for every brilliant, world changing idea he developed, he'd go haring off on some new interest which would consume his personal fortune along with any investors he could attract. His last project being steam powered Buses (don't see any of them around either!).
Until someone figures out how to store electricity w/out a battery (super cool the electrons and store them in a thermos bottle? call it a "juice jug") and develops a way to produce thrust without conventional motors (magnetic levitation, linear accelerators, plasma thrusters?), electric airplanes are the stuff of science fiction. The potential thrust to drag ratio is enough to keep them grounded. As for VTOL capability you might as well ask for "anti-gravity". I'd hate to guess how you could even start on something like that (lighter than air is a good approximation but unlikely to hit MACH speeds!)
Regards,
GtG
PS Bill Lear was presented with a screw driver with the blade mounted to the handle using ball bearings. The "tool" was presented to Mr Lear by his chief engineer who told him "Now you can screw around with the design without destroying it!"
PPS Nickola Tesla was a man so far ahead of his time as to be freightening. It may be said that he "invented" the world we live in.
"Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality." Nikola Tesla
"Let the future tell the truth, and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments. The present is theirs; the future, for which I have really worked, is mine." Nikola Tesla
I suppose you could dry your cat in the microwave too, but I expect the Mr. Pusskins might object.
Regards,
GtG
PS I always thought that a couple acres of photovoltaic cells with a microwave downlink in high orbit would make a nice clean energy resource (and a damn fine death ray if needed).
G
Perhaps, but not much longer.
http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/11/koreans-say-graphene-supercapacitors.html
It'd start to go really fast?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.