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The thing about zeppelins is, that (party) balloons give the completely wrong intuition about things that float in air. A balloon does float quite freely and wi
by yk 7y ago
The thing about zeppelins is, that (party) balloons give the completely wrong intuition about things that float in air. A balloon does float quite freely and without much air resistance, but by contrast a zeppelin is a substantial piece of machinery with a lot of area to generate air resistance. Actually to the point, where it is less energy consuming to use a plane, instead of fighting against the wind.
- esotericn 7y agoEh, I wouldn't say that a balloon floats without much air resistance. Trying to throw one to someone else is difficult, for example. The cheap footballs that are thin skinned - we used to call them 'flyaway' balls when I was younger. Because even those, substantially heavier than a balloon, would go off in random directions due to their susceptibility to wind from the low weight. But actually, I've never thought of a zeppelin this way before. It gives a good intuition - but for the opposite reason you've stated, that they _do_ act kind of like balloons, and that's not what you want from a directed vehicle!
- MayeulC 7y ago> Because even those, substantially heavier than a balloon, would go off in random directions due to their susceptibility to wind from the low weight. Just be sure to keep in mind that while zepperlins, dirigibles and aerostats are subjected to non-negligible amounts of buoyant force due to low density, that does not make them light, nor easy to push around. If you carry 20kt of cargo, plus the weight of the vehicle (including the weight of the lifting gas), I don't think a wind gust would blow you away, regardless of how strong it is. Try to push around a big buoy, that gives an idea of the challenge. Moreover, spheres are one of the aerodynamically poorest shapes (if not the most), actually worse than a flat sail. That's probably the biggest reason for Zeppelin's shape (or the rugby ball, for that matter).
- dredmorbius 7y agoBalloons are drift bodies rather than directed bodies (blimps, dirigibles). The only control is elevation, via dropping ballast, releasing gas, or application or gradual loss of heat (for hot-air / heated-gas balloons). Otherwise, it's your drag itself that's providing directional control by way of winds.
- obituary_latte 7y agoAccording to the first paragraph of the article, these airships would ride the jet stream consistently traveling west-to-east across the globe thereby negating the issue of fighting against the wind. Not sure exactly how your comment relates?
- pixl97 7y agoHow would the ship get back to the east?
- PhasmaFelis 7y agoI guess go all the way around. If you're not burning fuel to move, and time isn't a factor, there's no obvious downside. I would guess that a jetstream-bound airship taking the long way around would still be faster than an ocean-going container ship in most cases.