Tech from Singularity’s Children: Solid State Aircraft



The ‘Sky-Whales’ and floating buildings in my Singularity’s Children books use the cool futuristic technology of Electro-Hydro-Dynamics. Instead of old-fashioned propellers batting the air with their silly paddles, an Electro-Hydro-Dynamic thruster employs electric fields to move negatively charged air to produce propulsive thrust…

This small demonstrator is claimed to be the first solid-stateheavier-than-air vehicle to successfully demonstrate this technique to fly untethered.

The same techniques can also be used to change the aerodynamics of an object by smoothing the airflow or deliberately ruffling it up to make the vehicle turn without using physical control surfaces. It can also slow the air being ingested by super-, or even hyper-sonic scram-jets, allowing planes to achieve orbital velocities within the atmosphere…

Both Russia (Ayaks) and the US (Aurora) are rumoured to have this tech flying.

I first came across this technology reading and watching videos from the ‘Lifter‘ community, which are cool, but do tend to drift towards the ‘UFO conspiracy theory’ end of the intellectual spectrum

Full video of the first flight:

 

Also interesting:
https://www.netl.doe.gov/File%20Library/Events/2014/MHD/2-1-MPGW-NASA-IBlanksonPresentation10012014.pdf

Techcrunch Article here:
https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/21/with-no-moving-parts-this-plane-flies-on-the-ionic-wind/

Distraction Free Writing?



I’ve decided that to make some rapid progress on Singularity’s Children Book Four, I need to get my head down for a solid burst of uninterrupted creativity.

Trusted friends have advised me that the quaint, sleepy, Dutch town of Amsterdam would be a perfect off-grid location for some distraction-free writing…
…so I will be heading over there in December.

If any of you happen to be about—flying through, on a city break or just looking for an excuse to visit—and fancy meeting up for a drink on Friday 14th December, let me know!

Reply below or mail me directly.
If you can’t make it, any suggestions for places to meet up are very welcome, and might make it into Book Four…

It would be great to get to know you and chat SciFi over a beverage or two. The first drink is on me!

Future Tech – Transport Tubes, 2018 Style

The Boring Company LA test tunnel is set for its December demo.

“The company’s tunnels will have Loop shuttles that can carry pedestrians, cyclists and even private vehicles at speeds reaching 150mph for as little as $1”


With limited surface area on this ball, it has always seemed crazy to me that we pave over the whole thing with ugly, dangerous, polluting, noisey roads…

 

Via Engadget