Re:Electric Planes Usher in the Second Great Age of Aviation
by masklinn on Tuesday July 28, 2015 @11:55AM
(#9962439)
> That's exactly what brings costs down
The problem of batteries on airliners is not cost, it's that they don't store enough energy per mass. Even if your batteries are free, when your plane can't take off because its mass has increased >10 fold there's very little point, you're left with an expensive bus too wide to take roads.
> Dyson spheres? Now who's exaggerating.
Same as before.
> Electric airplanes already exist, and will continue to improve for decades to come.
The original assertion is that they're the future of air travel, not the future of small-scale hobbyists.
> Dyson spheres do not exist, and are not on the horizon.
Both of which apply equally to electric airliners. Electric airliners require a literal technological revolution, so do dyson spheres.
The problem of batteries on airliners is not cost, it's that they don't store enough energy per mass. Even if your batteries are free, when your plane can't take off because its mass has increased >10 fold there's very little point, you're left with an expensive bus too wide to take roads.
> Dyson spheres? Now who's exaggerating.
Same as before.
> Electric airplanes already exist, and will continue to improve for decades to come.
The original assertion is that they're the future of air travel, not the future of small-scale hobbyists.
> Dyson spheres do not exist, and are not on the horizon.
Both of which apply equally to electric airliners. Electric airliners require a literal technological revolution, so do dyson spheres.