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Canadian Company Plans Solar-Powered Heavier-Than-Air Airships
savuporo writes "By crossing airships with airplanes, Solar Ship is planning to build a craft that can carry heavy loads long distances with a tiny carbon footprint. Filled with helium, they soak up rays from the sun to provide the energy for forward motion and fulfill its original design challenge – carry 1,000 kilograms (2,205 lbs) of payload 1,000 kilometers (621.4 miles). The craft is heavier than air, and uses a combination of helium filling its interior and its lifting body delta wing shape to stay airborne. Solar Ship shows plans for a range of different size craft for different duties."
It doesn't use up the helium though .. once it's filled it's full.
Second.. from Wikipedia "In 1996, the U.S. had proven helium reserves, in such gas well complexes, of about 147 billion standard cubic feet (4.2 billion SCM).[80] At rates of use at that time (72 million SCM per year in the U.S.; see pie chart below) this is enough helium for about 58 years of U.S. use, and less than this (perhaps 80% of the time) at world use rates, although factors in saving and processing impact effective reserve numbers. It is estimated that the resource base for yet-unproven helium in natural gas in the U.S. is 31–53 trillion SCM, about 1000 times the proven reserves."
Even if they are wrong by a factor of ten that still gives us a few centuries of helium left .. by which time hopefully we'd be either creating helium via nuclear fusion power plants or able to bring back abundant quantities from Jupiter.
I would love to know this. My physics isn't great, but I did a quick Google.
It looks like the consensus is that it is not possible, those materials do not exist.
The other thing is that is would not make much difference than using helium:
Density of air is 1.2 kg/m3.
The density of helium is 0.166 kg/m3.
If we had a balloon filled with air, and replaced it with helium, the density reduces to 14%. This means that that much helium could support 86% of the weight of the air. A vacuum's density is 0, so it was possible it would support the weight of 100% of the air it 'displaced'. So a perfect vacuum is only 16% better at lifting (in air) than helium is.
The interesting thing is that, if they are mylar (or 'foil') balloons, you could do just that. It is the latex, and most plastics like polythene, that leak helium.
Prediction for end of Universe #42: Fencepost error in Quantum_bogosort.cpp
http://www.hybridairvehicles.com/
The US military is buying half a billion dollars worth of kit from them... Or rather through Northrop Grumman.
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/video-northrop-grumman-wins-race-to-revive-hybrid-airships-with-517-million-order-343259/
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