Futuristics
A collection of anticipated essays containing speculation about the near future. For now, notes about each topic are included inline.
The Mach 2 Private Jet
key ideas: the jet engines are mounted above the wings to reflect engine noise toward space; all forward-facing surfaces have a slope less than or equal to 1/3; narrow fuselage; use of vacuum insulated-panels to reduce interior noise; virtual windows.
Is a Generation Starship Close to Feasible?
While constructing a generation starship capable of supporting ~500 people indefinitely is possible with much international cooperation, it is currently totally infeasible to get it to another star system in reasonable time due to the extreme kinetic energy required.
Do We Have To Wait for Room-Temperature Superconductivity?
No, current HTS are capable of replacing long distance transmission lines.
Can We Observe Extrasolar Planets Using Gravitational Lensing?
No, because solar lensing does not magnify that much, even though it can increase the intensity a lot.
A Proposal for a Next-Generation Transportation System
Key idea: interchangeable cabins
Cabin size is cylindrical, ~5 feet diameter, 10.5 feet long
Cabin:
manned/unmanned
can accommodate 4 or 6 people
can hold a stack of 4×8 plywood
can hold pallet of 10 foot PVC pipe
can hold most household appliances
privately owned
can automatically attach/detach from carriers in seconds
Multiple carriers can be employed en route to a destination.
Carriers are publicly-owned and rentable
Carrier types:
Low-speed rechargeable electric
High-speed electric (high-speed concatenable trains to reduce air resistance)
Ultra-high-speed magnetically levitated
Existing:
Local roads – 0 -50mph, primarly internal combustion engines
Interstates – 50-70mph, primarily internal combustion engines
Air travel – 300-500mph, primarily jet engines
Proposed:
Local roads – 0-50mph, low-speed carriers
Local arteries – 100-150mph, standard gauge rail, high-speed concatenable electric carriers
Intercity tunnels – 1000-2000mph, ultra-high-speed carriers magnetically levitated and propelled through vacuum
Can Solar Energy Meet Our Needs?
Yes.
1000 watts/m2 insolatiom at Earth”s surface x
0.25 light day/night/cloud cover ratio x
0.2 conversion to electricity efficiency
= 125 watts/m2
Total world energy consumption ~= 200 Twh/year
This approximately equals 23 Gw averaged over a year. This can be supplied by 184000000m2 of solar panels, or 184 km2. This is about equivalent to 72 square miles, which is minuscule compared to the amount of subtropical and tropical arid land available for this purpose. The main consideration is the efficient long distance transmission of electrical power, which hopefully we have addressed above.