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You just wrapped my mind around. Of course a sailing super tanker would be hard to manage, but why on earth don’t we use solar + wind conversion to propel them,
by Twisell 8y ago
You just wrapped my mind around. Of course a sailing super tanker would be hard to manage, but why on earth don’t we use solar + wind conversion to propel them, that should be obvious.
- usrusr 8y agoOriginally, a main reason for cargo ships to abandon sails was more efficient dock logistics. Construction of cargo sail did not stop until well after the more speed sensitive military and passenger applications had converted to steam engines, even to steam turbines. Late cargo sail like the giant American schooners got by with surprisingly small crews (though it could be argued that they were too thinly crewed for reliable operation). Modern concepts like https://skysails.info/ https://skysails.info/ hardly interfere with deck access at all.
- acidburnNSA 8y agoThe difference is energy density. You can propel a large ship much faster on fossil fuels. This is why every Navy rapidly switched to coal and then oil and then to nuclear. For cargo, economies of scale in shipbuilding want big fast ships. And international commerce likes things to be delivered quickly. Sure you can go back to sails and solar, but it will be many orders of magnitude less powerful than fossil fuel or nuclear powered shipping.