Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Could Blimps Replace Planes For Cargo?
Could slow-moving but efficient blimps replace air planes for moving cargo around the world? The British government's former chief scientific adviser, Professor Sir David King, now director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at the University of Oxford, recently told a conference that massive helium balloons – or blimps – would replace aircraft as a key part of the global trade network as a way of cutting global warming emissions.
(Airship freight carrier by German company CargoLifter)
"There are an awful lot of people we talk to who say this is going to happen," said King. "This is something I believe is going to happen."Airships would be too slow for some high-speed airfreight, and would not be needed to carry the majority of cargo for which much slower ships are suitable. But with a speed of 125kph (78mph), and much lower fuel costs, plus a carrying capacity potentially many times that of a standard Boeing 747 plane, blimps could in future carry much of current air freight.
A recent report on mobility by the Smith School, for example, quoted an estimate by one developer, UK-owned SkyCat, that it could carry twice the weight of strawberries from Spain to the UK of a standard cargo plane, with a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, much of which is from avoiding the huge fuel burn a jet engine uses to take off.
Science fiction writers still like blimps, even though they've declined in popularity over the last eighty years. For example, see this excerpt from Paolo Bacigalupi's excellent 2010 novel The Windup Girl:
At the next anchor pad, 200 meters away, megadonts scream as they drag cargo out of a dirigible's belly and pile the shipment for sorting and Customs approval. Turbofans gust and surge, stabilizing the vast airship anchored overhead. The balloon lists and spins...
Fans of Jerry Pournelle may recall the Skyhook from his 1976 story West of Honor.
Float gently into the future with these recent blimp-related stories:
- A-170 Video Lightsign Airship Brings Blade Runner Blimp To Sky Near You
The sign can display full color still images, as well as live video, at night. - Blimp Swims Through Air Like A Fish
It uses its artificial muscles to power through the air like a trout swimming in a brook. - DARPA's Walrus and Griffith's War-Balloons
Despite early descriptions of "war-balloons" in late nineteenth century science fiction, this isn't your father's (not to mention great-grandfather's) dirigible airship. - Dynalifter Prototype Ready For Flight
The unique design uses helium to achieve 50 percent of its lift; the remaining lift will be from four wings and propellers.
From the Guardian.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/1/2010)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 5 )
Related News Stories - (" Transportation ")
Tesla Electric 'Giga Train' Operational In Germany
'...the cars are wedge-shaped at both ends.' - John Jacob Astor IV, 1894.
San Francisco Autobus
'THE autobus turned silently down the wide street...' - Stanley G. and Helen Weinbaum, 1938.
Volvo's Autonomous Truck
'They were automatic trucks such as are used for making deliveries...' - Miles J. Breuer, 1932.
Eviation Alice Electric Plane First Flight
'A white electric plane approached at great speed...' - Charles Cloukey, 1930.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Miss Alabama Beauty Contest Offers Different Standards
'...they moved with the ease of dandelion puffs.'
Has Musk Given Up On Full Self Driving (FSD)?
'...some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre...'
Prufrock-3 'The Monster' Ready To Launch
Just go for it.
Drones In Vast Airborne Grids
'These pods were programmed to hang in space in a hexagonal grid pattern...'
Starship Special Edition For Lunar Shuttle
Love those special edition spaceships.
Capturing Asteroids With Nets
'...the meteor caught and halted just as a small boy catches a swift ball in his cap.'
Project Hyperion - Generation Ship Designers Needed!
'We have decided that it shall be but one ship... it must contain everything needed to take us through the generations.'
AI Welfare Position At Anthropic Filled By Human
'You’re the robopsychologist of the plant, so you’re to study the robot itself...'
Marslink Proposed By SpaceX
'It was the heart of the Solar System's communication line...'
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Wood-Panelled LignoSat Launched
'The Consul remembered his first glimpse of the kilometer-long treeship...'
Laser-Beam Welding In Orbital Factories
'His contract with Space Industries required him to work summers in their orbital factory.'
'Iceberg House' Of Travis Kelce Reflects Science Fiction Of Past Century
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock that folded up to underlie the ridge...'
Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
A System To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Robot Hand Separate From Robot
'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
