re: There's the rub...

Space/Science » in reply to There's the rub...

re: There's the rub...

nick hoffman — 3/27/2007 2:15:13 PM (archived)

Currently there's no Ultra-light high-power SUSTAINABLE energy source.

H2 + O2 is pretty light and high power, but it's gone quick. All carbon and hydrocarbon fuels are in this category - easier to hndle, but less chemical energy per pound.

Nuclear is E=MC^2, but it's heavy and relatively low power. Stars are immensely heavy and grossly inefficient (if they weren't, life would be impossible and the UNiverse would be VERY different)

Hydro and Solar are eminently sustainable but heavy (and they're really second-hand nuclear power courtesy of the sun)

There are other examples from the matrix of 8 possible answers.

Most fail 2 or even 3 of the desires. Heavy and Low-Power is a common combination. Many concepts are ALSO Unsustainable.

Ain't seen nothing outside of science fiction that scores high on all 3 counts...

The whole thread (63 posts)

More information on Dual-Stage 4-Grid (DS4G) thrusters - Lee - 3/23/2007 6:18:42 AM
- Could these thrusters be used for lunar landing/ascent? - Lee - 3/24/2007 4:22:23 AM
  - Now Lee - do not use these thrusters on deer. Please. (n/t) - Bowser - 3/24/2007 5:10:49 PM
    - How do you think Santa gets his to fly? ;) (n/t) - Lee - 3/24/2007 5:51:33 PM
  - A few issues - Adam - 3/24/2007 12:06:04 PM
    - re. Correct me if I'm wrong but it - Johannes - 3/25/2007 1:28:20 AM
      - re: re. Correct me if I'm wrong but it - Keermalec - 4/12/2007 9:03:02 PM
      - Common sense. - TB - 3/25/2007 4:36:01 PM
      - Exercise for the student - R.L. - 3/25/2007 4:26:04 PM
        
        All units are metric in the numbers I gave (n/t) - R.L. - 3/25/2007 5:03:00 PM
        
        Its quite simple to calculate- I am sure several here can do the math, but dont post the answer- lets wait for super genius, 'better than Einstein' Johannes to share his answer first... - R.L. - 3/25/2007 5:00:49 PM
        
        re: My curiosity was directed at â€œ Adam, posted on 3/24/2007 5:06:04 AM,â€œ he - Johannes - 3/25/2007 7:30:30 PM
        
        Giggle- still havent learned the difference between energy and power - R.L. - 3/25/2007 9:10:57 PM
        
        Okay, now you're just poking it with a stick. Let it lie. (n/t) - TB - 3/26/2007 12:43:15 AM
        
        No - R.L. - 3/26/2007 5:00:48 AM
        
        Wearing out the hammer - TB - 3/26/2007 3:30:18 PM
        
        Unfortunately, no... - nick hoffman - 3/27/2007 1:58:27 PM
        
        re: Your post makes sense. - Johannes - 3/31/2007 4:46:06 AM
        
        Oh Dear... - nick hoffman - 4/1/2007 4:29:41 PM
        
        re: Interesting questions, Iâ€™ll answer when I have some time. (n/t) - Johannes - 3/30/2007 2:33:29 AM
        
        No, TB... - R.L. - 3/26/2007 3:40:51 PM
        
        re: No - TB - 3/26/2007 3:45:21 PM
        
        Good, now you do the calculation.... (n/t) - R.L. - 3/26/2007 3:47:09 PM
        
        Sure. - TB - 3/26/2007 3:54:54 PM
        
        That was not an answer - R.L. - 3/26/2007 5:19:30 PM
        
        Was the number wrong? Was my analysis? (n/t) - TB - 3/26/2007 7:17:13 PM
        
        You didnt give a number (n/t) - R.L. - 3/26/2007 7:29:27 PM
        
        re: You didnt give a number - gbaikie - 3/26/2007 10:24:34 PM
        
        I GAVE you the numbers - R.L. - 3/27/2007 9:32:45 PM
        
        re: I GAVE you the numbers - gbaikie - 3/28/2007 2:53:40 AM
        
        VERY good - R.L. - 3/28/2007 6:54:52 AM
        
        GBAIKIE OFFICIALLY KNOWS PHYSICS BETTER THAN JOHANNES (n/t) - R.L. - 3/28/2007 7:14:04 AM
        
        Wow, now I have to best SDAI-Tech1 (n/t) - gbaikie - 3/29/2007 12:05:29 AM
        
        Dude- you just won "slightly not dumber than a post award" - ARRELL - 3/30/2007 12:09:03 PM
        
        :) (n/t) - gbaikie - 3/31/2007 4:26:05 AM
        
        If anyone scrolls out this far... - TB - 3/31/2007 4:16:33 PM
        
        re: If anyone scrolls out this far... - Jody - 4/11/2007 7:50:09 PM
        
        You get an 'F' (n/t) - R.L. - 3/27/2007 9:05:33 PM
        
        why does density matter? - nick hoffman - 3/27/2007 2:05:14 PM
        
        A 1 kg cube of TNT is ~8.5 cm on a side (n/t) - R.L. - 3/27/2007 8:25:39 PM
        
        re: You didnt give a number - TB - 3/26/2007 9:10:43 PM
        
        In case you're wondering... - TB - 3/26/2007 9:15:27 PM
        
        I actually chose it because it CANT be looked up - R.L. - 3/27/2007 2:41:47 AM
        
        Whoops. - TB - 3/27/2007 4:15:02 AM
        
        The point.... - R.L. - 3/27/2007 2:50:31 AM
        
        SHOW your work... - R.L. - 3/25/2007 9:06:24 PM
        
        "One watt of power is 1 Joule of energy, at least according to my understanding of the math formulas. " - R.L. - 3/25/2007 8:59:41 PM
        
        re: "One watt of power is 1 Joule of energy, at least according to my understanding of the math formulas. " - ROHAN - 4/11/2007 1:59:22 PM
        
        re:Your question was: - Johannes - 3/26/2007 12:46:56 AM
        
        re:Correction to re:Your question was: - Johannes - 3/26/2007 1:06:02 AM
        
        Off by MANY orders of magnitude - R.L. - 3/26/2007 4:54:35 AM
        
        re: O Great One, tell us how your universe works:-) - Johannes - 3/26/2007 6:46:35 PM
        
        When you learn the difference between power and energy maybe we can talk - R.L. - 3/27/2007 8:49:02 PM
        
        You seriously want to do this? - R.L. - 3/26/2007 7:10:52 PM
        
        Guys - please take it to flame, this is not space science any more. (n/t) - Doug Ellison - 3/26/2007 9:31:24 PM
        
        re: I think that what makes him crazy is that he - Johannes - 3/27/2007 5:19:37 PM
        
        Anybody else starting to get an "Andy Kaufman" whiff here? (n/t) - TB - 3/27/2007 8:29:50 PM
        
        "Secret Lives of Walter Mitty" came to my mind, actually. (n/t) - Yeti - 3/29/2007 3:09:50 AM
      - You are wrong - ARRELL - 3/25/2007 10:39:10 AM
    - Ok, what I figured. - Lee - 3/24/2007 5:12:17 PM
      - There's the rub... - Adam - 3/26/2007 5:51:42 PM
        
        That's what I was thinking. - Lee - 3/27/2007 10:02:09 PM
        
        re: There's the rub... - nick hoffman - 3/27/2007 2:15:13 PM

Recent posts

On this day in Space/Science

The whole thread (63 posts)