LEGO space shuttle proves the model should still be used

[aimeeandbeatles]

And then a bird would run into the balloon and it goes Pop and all the expensive equipment crashes to the ground.

 

[Double A]

And then a bird would run into the balloon and it goes Pop and all the expensive equipment crashes to the ground.

Just like in the video, right?

 

[Crezth]

You know guys, there's a reason we stopped with all that balloon stuff.

 

[Double A]

Hindenburg used hydrogen, which is somewhat more explosive than helium.

 

[Andvare]

Hindenburg used hydrogen, which is somewhat more explosive than helium.

Yes, but hydrogen is a fair bit better for balloon lift.
Except, of course, for that whole oh, the humanity thing.

 

[Antilogic]

Fun, tangentially-related fact: helium is one of the few elements we can and probably will actually run out of. Helium in balloons, etc., once it inevitably diffuses out, will reach escape velocity, and leave Earth.

Most of the other stuff, at least in elemental form, remains on Earth in some form or another, and with some energy expenditure can be recycled and recovered.

 

[Winner]

There probably is enough helium caught in the rocks that in principle we shouldn't ever run out of it. Getting it out might be a problem though.

 

[uppi]

There probably is enough helium caught in the rocks that in principle we shouldn't ever run out of it. Getting it out might be a problem though.

In practice there is already a serious helium shortage right now, because supply can currently satisfy only about 80% of demand. This has lead to extreme price increases and delivery problems.

But if we're speculating about hypothetical devices, we might as well think about a balloon rigid enough to contain a vacuum. In that case no gas would be needed.

 

[Samez]

Reminds me of the project Excelsior

Link to video.

Link to video.
I would like to know if there was some kind of reentry concept of the lego balloon? Will the decreasing amount of helium in the balloon allow a slow and thereby heat free reentry?

 

[Double A]

In practice there is already a serious helium shortage right now, because supply can currently satisfy only about 80% of demand. This has lead to extreme price increases and delivery problems.

But if we're speculating about hypothetical devices, we might as well think about a balloon rigid enough to contain a vacuum. In that case no gas would be needed.

Isn't there a really old law that regulates the price of helium in the US, though? It's ridiculous because of the increased demand and we supply most of the helium in the world.

 

[Crezth]

Hindenburg used hydrogen, which is somewhat more explosive than helium.

A helium balloon for lifting anything of consequence into the upper atmosphere would be gargantuan.

 

[Double A]

I already said "shrink ray," which would also implicate "growth ray."

 

[Crezth]

I already said "shrink ray," which would also implicate "growth ray."

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh you sneaky-sneak!

 

[Double A]

The other good news is that there will be no more awkward commercials about old people in hot tubs.

 

[Winner]

In practice there is already a serious helium shortage right now, because supply can currently satisfy only about 80% of demand. This has lead to extreme price increases and delivery problems.

Well... Saturn, here we come...

But if we're speculating about hypothetical devices, we might as well think about a balloon rigid enough to contain a vacuum. In that case no gas would be needed.

I wonder if this might be possible one day, using some exotic materials (probably some carbon nanotube sphere strong enough in order not to implode).

 

[uppi]

Isn't there a really old law that regulates the price of helium in the US, though? It's ridiculous because of the increased demand and we supply most of the helium in the world.

I don't know. I just know that helium is difficult to get at the moment. Fortunately the atoms I work with can be cooled to microkelvins without helium, so I am not directly affected by the helium shortage.

Well... Saturn, here we come...

I don't know how much use there would be for helium if the price was high enough to make going to Saturn profitable. If helium was that expensive, people might think twice whether they really need superconducting coils to generate their magnetic field.
But the unique properties of helium make it impossible to replace in some cases, so if we really run out, going to space might be the only option.

I wonder if this might be possible one day, using some exotic materials (probably some carbon nanotube sphere strong enough in order not to implode).

And you would need a layer that keeps the air out, but is extremely lightweight. Sounds very challenging, but might be possible some day. After all, the vacuum in the balloon doesn't have to be good.

 

[Double A]

Wouldn't it be awesome if running out of helium caused certain governments to renew space exploration efforts so they could set up helium mines for massive profit?

 

[Silurian]

The trouble with Lego is it does not fly.
But this plane from the town next to me does spin a lot when it is released 17 miles up.
Paper planes are the future.

From Herald Express

A PAIGNTON man who helped take a paper plane 17 miles above the earth has been entered into the Guinness Book of World Records.

Steve Daniels was part of the team which launched the paper aeroplane into space from a helium balloon at an altitude of 89,591ft above the earth's surface.

http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/V...-makes-world/story-15433233-detail/story.html

 

[Double A]

Well, there's not really any moisture in space, so it could work... assuming nothing actually hits it. Or is in it.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Just like in the video, right?

If it was in the video I didnt see that. But the likelihood of it crashing to the ground is probably very correlated to the price of the equipment. So the lego one doesn't crash but a multi-million dollar space equipment does.