On Thursday, March 16, 2000 4:46 PM EvMick@aol.com wrote:
> What is less dense than nothing?
>
> How about a vacumn dirgible. That is...instead of pressurizing a
> ballon....evacuate a pressure vessel. If the weight of the volume of the
air
> displaced exceeds the weight of the pressure vessel it should float..
>
> Neal Stephenson alluded to such devices in "diamond age". Are they
possible
> now?.....using geodesic type structures and hi tensile material?
>
> Can such a structure be made light enough?
Before others attack you, let me say that it seems merely an engineering
problem. Of course, it might be a very difficult one at that. It might not
require nanotechnology, but the construction must be able to withstand
external pressure and this could be differential (e.g., in wind conditions).
Probably some form of dirigible could solve this sans nanotech, if one could
model the forces correctly and put the right type of rigid rod in the right
place... Why not moving supports that might change their configuration
based on stress?
Even if successful, one problem with lighter than air craft -- whether
blimps, dirigibles, balloons, or what have you -- is that they tend to be
hard to maneuver. This, again, is not an insurmountable problem. It would
be nice, after all, to have lunch a few thousand feet up on a nice summer
day.:)
Cheers!
Daniel Ust
http://mars.superlink.net/neptune/
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