4 ms·
How are these things supposed to stay aloft? They need to lift: 1) Themselves 2) The solar panels 3) Fuel cells 4) 20km of tether and cable The idea seems
by sevensor 11y ago
How are these things supposed to stay aloft? They need to lift:
1) Themselves
2) The solar panels
3) Fuel cells
4) 20km of tether and cable
The idea seems really neat, but I'm an engineer and I want to see the math.
Edit: And how about that tether? What's the wind load going to be like? How is it moored? What is it made of?
- undersuit 11y agoThey are energy collectors, I would assume you use some of that energy to heat the air in their balloons. I'm more interested in how you optimally position the solar cells, would a sphere really be the best or would a pontoon dragging in the wind give a better chance for the solar panels to receive optimal light? You probably don't want that 20km tether to be twisted too many times either.
- sevensor 11y agoInteresting point about placement --- seems like a dense array of these would be at risk of getting tangled. And then there's the risk of the tether / cabling becoming a conduit for electrostatic discharge. Of all the engineering issues here, I think tethering is the most problematic.
- notahacker 11y agoI can't imagine many people wanting to live near 20km electrically charged cables, never mind pilots flying between them in a high wind. Having to build a long way from urban areas rather reduces the advantages of such a system over solar farms in the desert.
- Jedd 11y ago> I can't imagine many people wanting to live near 20km electrically charged cables, never mind pilots flying between them in a high wind. Not being able to imagine something, and other people not being able to do it, are not functionally equivalent. Lots of people live within 20km of much more dangerous structures already. But there are plenty of places that people live > 20km away from because they're considered a high risk. So, take your pick on that one. Pilots already have experience at not flying in certain places - environmental reserves, war zones, hurricanes, mountains, etc - they're pretty good at reading maps. > Having to build a long way from urban areas rather reduces the advantages of such a system over solar farms in the desert. I'd suggest you refer to the article again for the proposed benefits of having these things above cloud level, rather than on the ground. Currently (npi) most power generation occurs much more than 20km from the primary urban areas that they provide power to.
- kijin 11y agoPut some propellers on the balloons, and a computer to control them. If we can get drones to avoid trees while flying through a forest at high speed, we can make balloons maintain a safe distance from one another at an altitude way above most storms.
- djKianoosh 11y agowhy tether? why not let the balloon charge a battery, and have drones carry the battery back to earth when full, and vice versa...
- Jedd 11y agoGood question. The winds up there are really strong. Tethering also lets you wind the appliance back to the ground even when (especially when) it's faulty. Tethering also lets you obtain power throughout the 12+ hours of power generation per day.
- djKianoosh 11y agoMaybe the balloons could be autonomous as well, rising/falling depending on conditions, and also falling to an acceptable elevation for the drones to reach them efficiently :)
- shkkmo 11y agoBatteries are heavy, lifting them with aircraft is significantly inefficient.
- kaybe 11y agoAn idea is to use rotating cylinders as balloons which generate lift (Magnus effect). It helps a little.