Solar-powered aircraft flown for nearly three weeks without landing

Post by silisili » Tue, Oct 12, 2021, 5:22 AM UTC

javajosh wrote: post #145

silisili wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting last point...curious why is that? Do they get battered from weather and physically tear, or do they just stretch/thin over time?

Racers use very thin, light, and stiff sails made from mylar or similar materials. They are typically very expensive and want to be changed as often as possible, at least once every racing season. Modern small pleasure yacht cruising sails "canvas" is laminated polyester, aka dacron, which is far thicker, more durable, springier, and more common than mylar. It's an interesting question, where does the wear come from.…

Post by ncmncm » Tue, Oct 12, 2021, 5:26 AM UTC

mhio wrote: post #154

ncmncm wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SpaceX are launching satellites with ("frickin") lasers now. So, if you are in the middle of the ocean, your packets step between satellites on the same orbit, forward or back, until they get in range of a node. First actual use is for polar service. On certain routes, packets will be artificially delayed so that high-speed traders can pay big bucks to get their packets through first, ahead of fiber. And, maybe pay e…

Is there any real world test data out for going over the laser interlinks yet? I know there have been Elon Musk tweets on the topic, but he tends to tweet from a spherical cow engineering world when looking at future specs. From very early on the "much lower latency due to the speed of light in a vacuum" posts have been repeated but there is a non negligible number of routing decisions and hops in the starlink mesh a…

Post by zapdrive » Tue, Oct 12, 2021, 5:32 AM UTC

pomian wrote: post #161

stareatgoats wrote: post #24

This is great and points to how solar in some cases already can facilitate continuous operation without the need for refueling of planes, boats, cars, you name it. Expect this to grow as battery and solar cell tech develops further. My favorites atm are the yachts that are capable of sailing just about anywhere in the world without a drop of fuel. The price is prohibitive, but considering that you might not need a ho…

Most sea going sailboats, and many others, are perfectly capable of sailing around the world, without any fuel. Solar panels are only needed to charge batteries, that are only needed if you want the extras: GPS, radio, other communications. 2 panels and 2 batteries are good enough for most boats, for 1 to 4 persons, traveling for anywhere around 1-2 months across the seas. The limitations are water, and food storage.…

Post by adgjlsfhk1 » Tue, Oct 12, 2021, 5:58 AM UTC

Fiahil wrote: post #91

Retric wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sails have several major downsides, most notably they take up a lot of deck space and cause a boat to tilt to the side. If you’re regularly sailing long distances it’s much faster but top speed isn’t that big of a deal when your living on the boat full time. Other options like kites and wind turbines can work well but they all all significant upfront costs as well as ongoing maintenance issues. Spending that same mon…

> Sails have several major downsides[..] Yes, but it makes less noise.

Post by joshuagross » Tue, Oct 12, 2021, 6:27 AM UTC

rootusrootus wrote: post #147

llbeansandrice wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not soaking your house in salt water really helps with longevity I've found

For sure. Even then, the techniques used by builders at the beach seem to allow houses to endure a long time.