Post by John Skieswanne on Feb 11, 2021 14:41:57 GMT
Imagine a material, and the more walls or structure built using this material, instead of weighting more, the lighter such a structure actually becomes. At a certain point the structure is so large it can both host people and lift itself off the ground, with no need for any propulsion to lift itself.
This lighter-than-air solid, let's call it "pangite" (a contraction of the words Pangaea, and the material suffix "-ite") would be the holy grail of the Federation's technological innovation. The development of pangite would allow the construction of starships that could elude the gravity of atmospheric planets (such as Earth) with minimal efforts, and perhaps even the construction of "levitating islands" of sorts.
The nature of such a material would probably take the form of a solid foam of lightweight metal, in which bubbles of lifting gas (helium? hydrogen?) are trapped.
Such a material does not exist yet, and needs to satisfy several basic requirements:
- The total weight of the metal foam needs to be less than the lifting power of the gas contained within;
- The metal mustn't allow the gas within to exit the material through diffusion (Aluminum?)
- The material must be rigid.
This lighter-than-air solid, let's call it "pangite" (a contraction of the words Pangaea, and the material suffix "-ite") would be the holy grail of the Federation's technological innovation. The development of pangite would allow the construction of starships that could elude the gravity of atmospheric planets (such as Earth) with minimal efforts, and perhaps even the construction of "levitating islands" of sorts.
The nature of such a material would probably take the form of a solid foam of lightweight metal, in which bubbles of lifting gas (helium? hydrogen?) are trapped.
Such a material does not exist yet, and needs to satisfy several basic requirements:
- The total weight of the metal foam needs to be less than the lifting power of the gas contained within;
- The metal mustn't allow the gas within to exit the material through diffusion (Aluminum?)
- The material must be rigid.
