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The existence of migratory birds proves that the loss of energy due to the Earth's gravitational pull is not so catastrophic. A vehicle in motion also loses ene
by reacweb 3y ago
The existence of migratory birds proves that the loss of energy due to the Earth's gravitational pull is not so catastrophic. A vehicle in motion also loses energy because of the friction of the wheels. Above a certain speed, air friction becomes the most significant loss. The comparison of the energy balance of a vehicle on the road compared with a vehicle in the air is not as clear-cut. Vehicles on wheels are much heavier and require infrastructure (roads) that must be taken into account.
- abtinf 3y agoYou may have noticed that migratory birds have a somewhat different mechanism of flight than typical drones.
- singularity2001 3y agozipline has wings
- tyingq 3y agoThey do show that: https://www.flyzipline.com/technology https://www.flyzipline.com/technology (scroll down, it first shows the thing that it drops, rather than the drone itself.) Lots of CGI and notices about "simulated" though. The videos that appear to maybe be real show something that does have wings, but looks too small/light/thin to carry much around.
- Philip-J-Fry 3y agoThe ones they are currently using in Africa are normal drone planes. They drop their payload without stopping though, so the payload has to be packed securely and nothing that can break easily. So it's used for medical supplies. This what Mark Rober's video was about. If they were to create a drone that can deliver arbitrary packages, then it needs to be able to lower a package safely. That's what those renders are, they show a typical multi-rotar drone with small wings. So it can stop and lower a package. I don't think there's any real footage of these yet.
- bigfudge 3y agoHe shows the proposed new model in that video too though, not just the drone planes.
- Ancapistani 3y agoThe concept of a fixed-wing VTOL UAS is well-tested, though. They’re not as simple as a quad or a “native” fixed-wing, but well within reach of a motivated hobbyist.
- sllabres 3y agoCame here to say that (i think their operations in Africa are quite impressive) but it seems as their "Zips" are a different kind of breed and more like a drone than a plane.
- da39a3ee 3y agoIf you were to ask a migratory bird, they'd tell you that it's fairly tough. You have to put on enough subcutaneous fat to double your body weight, and then do it knowing that either you or some of your friends and family will die.
- hef19898 3y agoAlso, with global warming and stuff, if possible those birds migrate less.
- shrubble 3y agoThere is no evidence to support this statement.
- hef19898 3y agoPlenty ofnevidence, of e.g. geese, migrating tonplaces further north. But surey birds don't exist anyway.
- da39a3ee 3y agoPlease provide your sources for the effect of climate change on bird migration.
- lancesells 3y agoHere's one of many: https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3201/climate-patterns-thousands-of-miles-away-affect-us-bird-migration/ https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3201/climate-patterns-thousand...
- shrubble 3y ago'may in the future ' basically...
- 3y ago
- zitsarethecure 3y agoYes, but how does the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow compare to that of one delivering a coconut?