Are we using Alien Technology?

[madmike]

If you haven't read it yet, you might want to check out "The Age of Spiritual Machines" by Ray Kurzweil. Aside from some pretty wild predictions about the future, he presents an in-depth discussion of the advance of technology. (BTW - the book says nothing about aliens or their technology.)

 

[Crashman]

Rayston, thank you for explaining these concepts so elequently. As an Engineering Design student and a technology scholar, I get a little hot under the collar when people start mentioning such idiocracies as "water engines" and other perpetual motion machines.

I'm so tired of cookies I'd settle for spam!

 

[Crashman]

The hydrogen technology you are referring to is the Fuel Cell which I previously mentioned. The main advantages of the fuel cell are that they are over twice as efficient as internal combustion engines (less polution do to less consumption), can be made to use any low viscosity liquid hydrocarbon (gasoline and diesel work, but alcohol is cleaner), and produce no oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, or ozone, which are all harmfull to organic cells. They still produce Carbon Dioxide, but because they are twice as efficient, only half as much.

I'm so tired of cookies I'd settle for spam!

 

[phsstpok]

more like 0-60 meters a second in 4 minutes.

You realize that 60 meters/sec is equal to 134.2 miles/hour. If a craft increased speed by this much every 4 minutes, as you say, it would be traveling 48,312 miles/hour at the end of one day.

The figure of 0-60mph in 4 days is the number that the scientist on the Learning Channel program used.

From the DS1 Launch Press kit, <A HREF="http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/files/misc/ds1launch.pdf" target="_new">http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/files/misc/ds1launch.pdf</A>(1.3Megs)

"<i>At full throttle, the ion engine would consume about 2,500 watts of electrical power and puts out 90 millinewtons (1/50th of a pound) of thrust. This is comparable to the force exerted by a single sheet of paper resting on the palm of a hand. At the minimum possible throttling level, the engine uses 500 watts of power and puts out about 20 millinewtons (1/200th of a pound) of thrust. Since Deep Space 1™s solar arrays are never expected to supply 2,500 watts of power, the ion engine will not be run at full thrust during the mission.</i>"

With a maximum thrust of 1/50th pound, DS1 gives new meaning to slow acceleration.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 08/25/01 00:46 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Matisaro]

"C. a hydrogen burning engine is far more efficient, than any electric motor we currently have."

The burning of hydrogen is inherently inefficient as it releases much of its energy as heat instead of movement. We can create high voltage electric motors that are far more efficient than an internal combustion engine. The only question is that of storing the electricity."

there in lies electric motors flaw, batteries are very very very inefficient, any gain you got from using an electric motor you lose 10 fold in the battery.

Hydrogen is very efficient as a motor, it produces LESS heat than a gasoline engine, and has more explosive force, hydrogens flaw is in storage, it is dangerous in liquid or gasious form(wanna drive the hindenburg from toyota anyone?) and fuel cell technology(safe storage) is still in its infancy.

~Matisaro~
"Friends don't let friends buy Pentiums"
~Tbird1.3@1.55~

 

[Matisaro]

Yes, that is correct, and at that level of thrust the ionized particles streaming out of the engine are not harmful, however, to power a car you would need ALOT more power, increasing the speed and amount of the ion ejecta to lethal levels, which is why ion drives will never be used for cars, planes etc.

~Matisaro~
"Friends don't let friends buy Pentiums"
~Tbird1.3@1.55~

 

[Guest]

MOre people alive now than ever that means more brains, means more total brain capacity means more development means more of everything (also including more nice women) so i bet no aliens.

 

[Guest]

I don't know, but over the last 60 years we have advanced too fast which could lead to a catastrophe in the end, before 1940's we had biplanes and piston engines in planes, then jet engines in 1944 (slow) and now super sonic planes in 1970's that is too advanced, standard jets from 1950's only lasted for 2 decades till super sonic ones came along, this is too fast.

it's the same as everyday things like the computer, how did we get that idea instantly in our head and space travel is different now we have people living in space stations and soon on the moon sometime in 2 or 3 years

 

[Mousemonkey]

I don't know, but over the last 60 years we have advanced too fast which could lead to a catastrophe in the end, before 1940's we had biplanes and piston engines in planes, then jet engines in 1944 (slow) and now super sonic planes in 1970's that is too advanced, standard jets from 1950's only lasted for 2 decades till super sonic ones came along, this is too fast.

it's the same as everyday things like the computer, how did we get that idea instantly in our head and space travel is different now we have people living in space stations and soon on the moon sometime in 2 or 3 years