Flying Saucer: "I've got to get me one of these!"

[gunug]

Didn't you always want a flying saucer, not a ultra-light, not an airplane; but a flying saucer:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1278332,00.html

Outside of antigravity this might be as close as we get!  And only "91 210.5 U.S. dollars" according to Googling an exchange rate!

There are a lot of videos at the website of the company that's making these:

http://www.moller.com/skyc.htm

[Gregg]

Does it have a Mac onboard? ... a mere technicality....

[gunug]

Gregg - Stop beating around the bush and spit it out!

[Paddy]

How many miles to the gallon, I wonder?

Just the thing for zooming over rush hour traffic...

[krissel]

I can imagine that thing must be unbelievably loud.  

[gunug]

There was a nice story on NPR this week that I want to look into that was about a couple of guys who are building smaller blimps for individual use.  The guy was trying to sell it on the merits of silence.

[Gregg]

QUOTE(gunug @ Aug 3 2007, 02:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Gregg - Stop beating around the bush and spit it out!

Oh, yeah, subtle hints don't work, obvious hints don't work...

 

 
Just wondering if a topic called "Flying Saucer" belongs on the Tech side...

As it doesn't really matter to me, I made my comment rather oblique. Maybe too much so?

So, why make the comment at all?
(That was just to save someone else the trouble.)

[Xairbusdriver]

QUOTE

I can imagine that thing must be unbelievably loud.

Depends on what kind of anti-gravity force is used. Most current aircraft are quite loud ( excepting sailplanes! ), noise-canceling headsets are usually recommended. That new blimp design did sound ( no pun intended ) like a good idea, but speed and bulk may not help with sales. OTOH, it should be less labor and hardware intensive than a hot air balloon. And certainly a little more convenient than always having to go 'down wind!'

[Mrious_be]

IF this thing starts selling this might be not just the launch of a funny looking flying device but it might be the start of us using (low altitude) devices for personal transport.
I really like the idea of that
But this thing has to take off first anyway... and I mean in sales.
3 Meter is not that high actually, not like you can buzz over traffic cause you'll have to avoid trucks, busses etc.
Actually, they will have to develop en entire new series of traffic laws and signs for these things... let's see if they (governement) are willing to do that?
The good thing is that you can park vertical and if you are careful enough, you can just put it down on top of a car

What I wonder is... do those things ALWAYS have that 3 meter left?
I mean, if you buzz over a street and there's a car, does this device still stays 3 meter from ground or does it also "hop" over the car (having 3 meter between car and device)?

 

[krissel]

Watching the video you can see it go up to a height far beyond 3 meters. So the capability is there but the higher you go the more likely a serious injury if you crash.  

[gunug]

I was looking around the Moller website and looking at some of the videos there and he's also flown his "aircar" which is a much more impressive vehicle than the little saucer but still pretty unstable.  Look at the video that's and interview with him.  I'd like to ask my nephew if this guy is considered to be a crank or not; something in the interview seems to indicate he's a little out there.

On the personal front; does anyone think my new avatar is aggravating?  I didn't think it would be that big and I might change it again anyway!  

[Gregg]

John, it's not "banner-sized" and it doesn't flash obnoxiously. So, no, I don't find it aggravating.

I know you were looking for responses in the affirmative, but maybe those came privately?

[gunug]

Oh, I just wanted to try an active avatar for a change; not sure this is the one though!  

On the subject of this topic scientists at the University of St Andrews in Scotland have "solved" the Casimir effect and are using it to levitate objects:

QUOTE

The Casimir force is a consequence of quantum mechanics, the theory that describes the world of atoms and subatomic particles that is not only the most successful theory of physics but also the most baffling.

The force is due to neither electrical charge or gravity, for example, but the fluctuations in all-pervasive energy fields in the intervening empty space between the objects and is one reason atoms stick together, also explaining a “dry glue” effect that enables a gecko to walk across a ceiling.

Now, using a special lens of a kind that has already been built, Prof Ulf Leonhardt and Dr Thomas Philbin report in the New Journal of Physics they can engineer the Casimir force to repel, rather than attact.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml...levitate106.xml

Apparently this is still only being applied in the realm of nanotechnology (they're trying to reduce and eliminate friction in nanomachines).  I want a pair of levitation shoes!  

[Mrious_be]

QUOTE(gunug @ Aug 6 2007, 12:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

On the personal front; does anyone think my new avatar is aggravating?  I didn't think it would be that big and I might change it again anyway!  

Funny you mention this, when I loaded this topic and saw your new avatar I was thinking I liked it.
It's different than your previous one and I would say much nicer
I wanted to put this as a little note but since you asked yourself, it even became a quote.

[Xairbusdriver]

I don't think your avatar is any more aggravating than your real persona!

There are already rules for these things. They actually are modified from various 'rules of the seas' ( the third dimension is not usually covered by sea rules! ). The main one that would bring the most problems is "See and be seen." The failure to follow that rule is almost always a disaster, even if it's ignored while just driving!