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Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes triple the density of lithium batteries

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Re: Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes triple the density of lithium batteries

#151
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if this could be solved for with detachable take-off booster. Gets you up in the air, then returns to the airport.

Couldn't you just start with a cable that detaches and is pulled back to the landing strip?

Just make sure it detaches properly, you don't wanta a dozen wire to yank you in mid ascend

Re: Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes triple the density of lithium batteries

#152
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Or, more likely, a slight improvement in your phone and much thinner phones. On laptops, we might see the return of more ports. // Please, no. I don't understand the utility of making something so expensive be so fragile and hard to hold. My phone is 5mm thick, that's already too thin for me. Does anyone want thinner phones or is it just a marketing thing?

The thinner the phone, the thicker the case I can put on it with the same total thickness. It's incredibly rare to see a case-less phone in the wild these days.

Wholly dependent on your environment. I don't see a case very often where I'm at

Re: Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes triple the density of lithium batteries

#153
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thinner the phone, the thicker the case I can put on it with the same total thickness. It's incredibly rare to see a case-less phone in the wild these days.

I don't use a case. If it were meant to be used with a case it would come built in. Iphones could easily double in thickness without making it harder to slip into a (male) pocket.

There are pockets for women's clothing?

Re: Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes triple the density of lithium batteries

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you want a vehicle that only covered 95% of your use cases? It's like condoms - better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

It certainly makes sense on a personal level but when one multiplies this thought process by a given population there starts to be a compounded issue of excess material going into the construction of the vehicles, excess fuel being used to move them, and excess parking space used to store them, to name a few.

Redunancy and efficiency are common tradeoffs we are constantly trying to balance. It's only a question of how important the effects of downsides are.

Sometimes someone dies as an immediate result, and for some it means waiting for another 5 minutes.

Re: Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes triple the density of lithium batteries

#155
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if this could be solved for with detachable take-off booster. Gets you up in the air, then returns to the airport.

Couldn't you just start with a cable that detaches and is pulled back to the landing strip?

A "third rail" along the runway and a dodgem/Scalextric type conductor springs to mind.

Re: Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes triple the density of lithium batteries

#156
post #2

Wow, if the coating is so cheap perhaps it can replace activated charcoal elsewhere, too. Would it also triple the capacity of water filters?

I'm not exactly sure you want carbon nanotubes in your water filter. They are mechanically very similar to asbestos and seem to likewise damage lung tissue. Probably better not to ingest them?

But the activated charcoal too contains all kinds of structures, including nanotubes. It's the filter construction that prevents them to end up in water (and they are much less dangerous in water than in air). If it can filter 3 times as much water before needing to be replaced, why not?

Re: Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes triple the density of lithium batteries

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not so sure about that being an acceptable solution for civilian transportation… Even assuming automation can eliminate the risks and training overhead associated with in-flight refueling, there are still be some major hurdles that would need to be addressed before this could be considered a viable solution. The 3 big ones that come to mind are: What happens if the KC-135 misses the rendezvous? What if the chargi…

> What happens if the KC-135 misses the rendezvous? What if the charging port fails to work for some reason? The same thing that happens today with combustion aircraft: the crew makes an emergency landing if they can, or bails out and waits for a Seahawk to pick them up. This actually happens with fuel-driven aircraft regularly today.

Bailing out seems a bit problematic for passenger aircraft.

Re: Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes triple the density of lithium batteries

#158
post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question, would nuclear powered planes be viable? As far as energy density goes it seems pretty hard to beat! https://xkcd.com/1162/

Yes, both USA and Soviet experimented with nuclear powered planes during the 60s. The problem was how to shield the pilots from radioactivity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear-powered_aircraft They also experimented with nuclear powered drones. https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a33565112... And Russia now claims to have a nuclear engine that can make a cruise missile fly for days. https://en.wik…

What if there were a reactor type which would require no, or much less shielding because all it emits is mostly hard ultraviolet light?

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_lightbulb

Re: Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes triple the density of lithium batteries

#159
post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Serious question, would nuclear powered planes be viable? As far as energy density goes it seems pretty hard to beat! https://xkcd.com/1162/

Yes, both USA and Soviet experimented with nuclear powered planes during the 60s. The problem was how to shield the pilots from radioactivity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear-powered_aircraft They also experimented with nuclear powered drones. https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a33565112... And Russia now claims to have a nuclear engine that can make a cruise missile fly for days. https://en.wik…

Another problem is crashes or accidents

Re: Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes triple the density of lithium batteries

#160
post #30

Battery noob here: Will this achieve the energy density of fossil fuels? In other words, a 50 litre tank of petrol gets me around 500 km. What will a similar volume of these batteries get me?

I think a fairer comparison might be to compare weight of IC Engine + fuel tank vs electric motor + battery.

IC and Fossil fuels still win out (particularly if you swap to gas turbine) but the numbers are much closer.

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