85
votes
How could a 6-way, zero-G, space constrained, 3D, flying car intersection work?
No intersections.
You want your paths to be like interstate highway lanes. No direction changing or maneuvering - passing slow traffic at most. If you want to change direction you need to get off ...
- 305k
48
votes
Accepted
How could a 6-way, zero-G, space constrained, 3D, flying car intersection work?
Adjust each cars approach speed such that you always get a clear path.
You know those action movie cliche where a car runs a red light and, despite crossing traffic, the timing is so precise that the ...
- 44.3k
38
votes
Airship defence against pack of flying creatures
You have three main options: violence, deterrence and countermeasures.
Violence:
If you kill them, they can't kill you.
Archers are the simplest and most readily available form of attack at a ...
- 3,529
24
votes
How could a 6-way, zero-G, space constrained, 3D, flying car intersection work?
Use a roundabout
Whilst Ash's answer is excellent when some form of automation is involved (as our current tech is leading towards already), I feel the question implies a lack of such technology.
...
- 8,093
23
votes
A better way to do a planetary invasion?
In terms of penetrating through air defenses, you aren't going to be able to do better than a reentry vehicle in the first place.
It's easy to miss this, because there isn't much frame of reference up ...
- 38.7k
22
votes
How could a 6-way, zero-G, space constrained, 3D, flying car intersection work?
Do what city traffic engineers do today to solve super massive congestion problems.
One way streets
You solve half your problem by reducing the intersection to just three directions of traffic and ...
- 128k
22
votes
Are "bicycles" for flying species possible?
No, that would be like an improved walking apparatus for us, not like a bicycle. Flying creatures are already evolved to pretty derive much optimum performance from their muscles for flying.
Note that ...
- 7,898
19
votes
Are "bicycles" for flying species possible?
It was mentioned, but in passing by and there seems to be no interest in.
Gliders
You'd basically want some kind of a wing prothesis, initially without a motor. The tricky part is:
to source light-...
- 3,380
18
votes
Accepted
A better way to do a planetary invasion?
A planet is a complicated thing to attack, and I feel a lot of military science fiction vastly oversimplifies this.
Detection on Approach
Your incoming spacecraft are only visible out to about 7.2x ...
- 18.8k
16
votes
How wide must aerial roadways be for safe, fuel-efficient flying cars?
You're all going to die
There's a saying that applies to GEVs/WIGs as much as it does to hovercraft. If you can see something in front of you you're going to hit it. GEVs are not suitable for traffic ...
- 118k
16
votes
Accepted
Why do flying saucers have to spin while flying?
Stabilization by gyroscopic effect, plain and simple.
A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος gûros, "circle" and σκοπέω skopéō, "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation ...
- 296k
16
votes
Accepted
Could an Earth-like world use airships as heavy cargo haulers?
Possible with minimal hand waving
Every few years, there's breathless coverage of the some airship startup that heralds lighter-than-air craft as the next big thing in aviation. A quick search of ...
- 10.5k
14
votes
Airship defence against pack of flying creatures
Possible counter measures:
Archers
Ballista
Catapult/cannon Launched net (you can disable their wings too)
Flamethrower (Byzantines are reported to have a primitive equivalent)
Flak - the ancient ...
- 11.3k
14
votes
Why broom made of broomcorn flies higher than those made of straw?
The first thing you need to do is understand that flying brooms, being magic, are not constrained by the physical attributes of the bristles, but by symbolic issues.
Along this line, broomcorn grasses ...
- 26.7k
13
votes
Airship defence against pack of flying creatures
winged serpents with the intelligence of wolves
Domesticate the dang things. Call them snogs (snake + dog)
You don't even have to fully domesticate them, if they're super territorial. You just have ...
- 3,663
13
votes
Accepted
Can Zeppelins and Blimps replace cars in the future?
Whilst the sci-fi "sky full of zeppelins" is awesome, I highly doubt lighter-than-air (LTA) craft are going to replace the automobile on a day-to-day transport level. They have several key ...
- 4,568
13
votes
Accepted
Could a solar system exist inside of a nebula which is made of breathable gases?
Could a star exist with this cloud similar to earth atmosphere around it where a person could breathe without much effort?
Nope. The solar wind and radiation pressure and a combination of planetary ...
- 78.4k
13
votes
Could a mechanical bird with the wingspan of Vermont be able to fly?
NO.
Not by flapping wings, that's for sure.
Problem the first:
Flyable air only goes up from the surface a short distance. Let's be extremely generous, and call this 10 miles.
Your bird has a wingspan ...
- 26.3k
12
votes
Armament for airships filled with non-flammable gas
You want to hit as many gas bags as you can, so something that spreads out once fired would be better than a single shot.
Grapeshot would be like a cannon sized shotgun, making a large cloud of ...
- 34.8k
11
votes
Accepted
Would an actively camouflaging airship cast a shadow?
Camouflage seldom truly attempts invisibility, instead aiming to break up patterns so that what you see isn't recognizable as a threat. In that vein, Diffused lighting camouflage has been in use for ...
- 708
11
votes
Are "bicycles" for flying species possible?
Paragliders
A few others have suggested gliders of one kind or another, but I think paragliders have a lot to recommend them. The wing is high above the user, so it won't interfere with the user's ...
- 6,173
10
votes
Can a Magnetically Held Sphere Levitate in the Air
I don't see how this can work. If I have understood your design concept, you put two magnets (or magnet cores) close-by in the same assembly.
They will either attract or repel each other, but in ...
- 296k
9
votes
Accepted
What would be a viable "Throne" for my human to be lifted by an army of house flies?
A Peculiar Sort of Cape
The character wears a sort of rigger's harness under his clothing with a large billowing cape-like garment attached to it. Instead of fabric the cape is thousands of sturdy ...
- 21.2k
9
votes
How could a 6-way, zero-G, space constrained, 3D, flying car intersection work?
If you want the highest possible flow, you need to split lanes and merge them together afterwards.
You have 18 lanes. Split them in 5 possible directions thats 3,6 lanes per direction. Prioritizing ...
- 569
8
votes
Armament for airships filled with non-flammable gas
Tactics
The most common weapon would be explosive or incendiary missiles - this would devastate your airship's armour and/or burn through it. These are the same missiles used today. These can be ...
- 22.4k
8
votes
Would an actively camouflaging airship cast a shadow?
The only true way to eliminate a shadow would be to cover the airship in a "metamaterial cloak". These are carefully engineered materials which force light to refract or reflect in ways the engineer ...
- 97.8k
8
votes
Accepted
How much will I have to modify my helicopter to have it fly supersonic?
You basically have to turn it into a plane. Or have it turn into a plane.
Retreating blade stall is an inherent flaw that comes with the shape of a helicopter and its rotors; there's no way to ...
- 19k
8
votes
Can Zeppelins and Blimps replace cars in the future?
We have more than 100 years of zeppelins under humanity belt. We made quite a technology leap with materials. Yet there are no smallish ones filled with hydrogen. And hydrogen is so easy to get that ...
- 21.9k
8
votes
Can a Magnetically Held Sphere Levitate in the Air
If you're writing about a large, mostly empty, magnetic sphere, which in its interior holds a smaller and also magnetic sphere, then yes, the small sphere could in principle float in the magnetic ...
- 676
8
votes
Flying commercial airliners with ground power?
There is practical problem: microwaves is also what radar uses
A radar system consists of a transmitter producing electromagnetic waves in the radio or microwaves domain, a transmitting antenna, a ...
- 296k
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