BF2S Forums Weird Energy Idea

Mavik wrote:

Sydney wrote:

FEOS wrote:

And there's no wind in space.

I read an article where it was speculated that solar sails could get us to 99.99% of light speed and make traveling huge distances easier.
Hard part would, naturally be to stop the space shuttle, would take an enormous amount of energy.

Turn the ship around as you close in on the target system?

Problem is, acceleration would decrease as you fly away from the sun and you would have to pass the sun very closely to get the most out of it to push you at a reasonable speed for interstellar travels.

In this book series http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queendom_of_Sol they use it - but they have a lot of physics tricks more up their sleeves.

FEOS wrote:

Sydney wrote:

FEOS wrote:

And there's no wind in space.

Yes there is, ever wondered why the planets closer to the sun are so much smaller than the gas giants? Because the solar winds were concentrated enough to blow away the gas around those planets.

There's no wind that would turn aerodynamic blades, which is what the OP was referring to.

And the size of the planets has nothing to do with solar winds...otherwise, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto would be gas giants, as well. And Saturn would be bigger than Jupiter, since it's further out from the sun.

Sydney wrote:

Acceleration doesn't really matter, because there is no resistance in space, therefore the ship should accelerate almost instantly to the speed of the solar winds.

FEOS wrote:

There's no wind that would turn aerodynamic blades, which is what the OP was referring to.

Roomba wrote:

The friction may be avoided by using super-conductors. You may have seen the magnets in liquid nitrogen experiment. Since space is cold, you may be able to reach those temperatures easily.

The only thing that has me scratching my head is the 'action/reaction' phenomenon in physics. If the windmill is spinning, the rigging to a base will want to spin the opposite way. The analogy I draw is to helicopters: they need a read rotor for stabilization from the main lift rotor.  The use of solar windmills on the moon could power a lunar space station.

Last edited by Mavik (2008-07-28 16:33:54)

VicktorVauhn wrote:

Sydney wrote:

Acceleration doesn't really matter, because there is no resistance in space, therefore the ship should accelerate almost instantly to the speed of the solar winds.

Uhh.... check your physics book again...

Locoloki wrote:

I think we should figure out a way to use magnets for thrust in space set up some magnet portals that space ships fly through and they give you thrust as you pass through them... reverse thrust/polarity when you get to where your going to slow down....  like a train on tracks kind of deal, except no worries of flying off the track

Sydney wrote:

FEOS wrote:

Sydney wrote:

Yes there is, ever wondered why the planets closer to the sun are so much smaller than the gas giants? Because the solar winds were concentrated enough to blow away the gas around those planets.

There's no wind that would turn aerodynamic blades, which is what the OP was referring to.

And the size of the planets has nothing to do with solar winds...otherwise, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto would be gas giants, as well. And Saturn would be bigger than Jupiter, since it's further out from the sun.

Neptune and Uranus ARE gas giants, pluto never had any gas at all, didn't have enough gravity to begin with.

The solid core on Jupiter is heavier than the one on Saturnus, therefore it attracted more gas, and therefore it is bigger.

Roomba wrote:

Mavik wrote:

Roomba wrote:

The only thing that has me scratching my head is the 'action/reaction' phenomenon in physics. If the windmill is spinning, the rigging to a base will want to spin the opposite way. The analogy I draw is to helicopters: they need a read rotor for stabilization from the main lift rotor.  The use of solar windmills on the moon could power a lunar space station.

The base would not turn in the other direction I think - and even if it does it would not be a problem as spinning helicopter is not quite useful, if the base of a solar wind power plant would turn it would actually speed up the generators.
But I have some problems imagining it right now, being 0130 in the morning, night.. whatever..

Alright. You forced me to geek it up a bit: Newton's Third Law "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." It is about the exact action placed on the mounted part that the sails are attached to. So the forces that turn the sail to rotate will apply the same force in the opposite direction. The problem is that in space the friction is almost nullified. The opposite force from the sails mount may cause undesired movement that will be amplified on a free floating station.

Quick source for the Laws.

http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect … 3laws.html

Sydney wrote:

FEOS wrote:

And there's no wind in space.

Yes there is, ever wondered why the planets closer to the sun are so much smaller than the gas giants? Because the solar winds were concentrated enough to blow away the gas around those planets.

Archer wrote:

Here's an even more idea:

We maek car that runs on human fat and lipids

Gas companies pay for Liposuction

Obesity solved

???

Profit!

Last edited by Archer (2008-07-29 10:56:20)