An Alternative TO Satellite
Tawit Chitsomboon
>fst...@marge.lerc.nasa.gov (Tawit Chitsomboon) writes:
>
>
>>I have what i think a unique idea for a small/poor country like Thailand.
>>I think using blimp/ballon (lighter than air aerocraft) instead of satellite
>
>This is an interesting idea. I am skeptical, however, about its feasibility.
>Why haven't other countries thought about this? I suspect that many others
>have thought about it before, considering the fact that they are more
>familiar with balloons as recreational tools than we do. The reason why
>this idea hasn't been implemented may be that it is not effective.
Well, they have been eating food for much longer than that, why
can't they invent TOMYAM GOONG :-) They have been eating potato chip
for very long but the potato-chip bag clip was invented only a couple
year ago :-)
>
>
>In order to go that high, the blimp must be filled with explosive hydrogen,
>or must it? It also has to be light, which means that it cannot carry too
>much communication equipment.
Blimp only use non-combustible Helium thesedays. A typical blimp has
payload of 10,000 pounds. Small balloons are sent to upper atmosphere
on a regular basis, with all the heavy gears, to monitor the weather.
>
>The most serious stumbling block to the realization of this idea is that
>a balloon cannot easily be maintained in a geo-stationary orbit. In order
>to be fixed relative to a position -- we don't want our balloon to be
>hovering over Laos :) -- the balloon must be propelled. How?
This is a TETHERED balloon. It's fixed to the ground by a rope.
>I have a sketchy idea about how a balloon works. So, my above comments may
>seem ridiculous to you. I will appreciate your further elaboration. Don't
>keep it to only professors in Thailand. I believe that many of SCT lurkers,
>not including me, are as smart as, if not smarter than, professors in
>Thailand.
Exactly my point! Only professor in Thailand will be ....:-) enough
to believe me :-) (just kidding OK)
OK, since you ask and since this is for the benefit of all mankinds
(The motto of NASA Lewis Research Center :-)
I think that wind-power will be the catch word of tomorrow's energy
supply, to keep civilization going. I am of a very weird idea that
we should hoist a wind-turbine up to a tethered balloon, to generate
electricity. See, all of you laugh :-)
It's very encouraging to know that a wind-turbine of 30 feet in diameter
at the windfarm near SanFrancisco can generate 2 megawatt of output.
The windmill is only 30 feet up from the ground. At this hight, however,
the mill is within earth's boundary layer. The windspeed at 500 feet up
is easily 2 times as fast as 30 feet up. But since wind power is
proportional to the cube power of wind speed, this mean it'll give
8 times more power at 500 feet, giving 16 meg not 2 meg of power.
I think this justisfies my point. Of course this is a real huge project,
but I think it's doable :-)
Thailand is fortunate to lie in a monsoon path. Fossil fuel is running
out sooner or later. To prepare future for our kids as well as to get
advancement for ourself, I think this should be seriously studied.
Balloon based wind turbine is also movable. We can move it around all
over to meet seasonal change in wind power.
Wind power (and IMO ocean wave power) will be thing of the future IMO.
A 30 feet area can generate 16megawatt (using my balloon:). This is
bizarre. A comparable area solar panel cannot generate a fraction of
that, i bet. Thailand should do research in this field very seriously
since not many people are enthusiastic about it.
-tawit