Airbus shows off a see-thru concept plane (w/ video)
June 14, 2011 by Katie Gatto 
(PhysOrg.com) -- Airbus has begun to show off its version of the plane of the future. It is somewhere between cool and disturbing, depending on who you ask, but it definitely represents some interesting new technology that could make flying more energy efficient and a give you something a lot more interesting to look at then the in-flight movie.
The presentations, which took place in London, feature concept art from the design that the company hopes one day to make into a flying model. The plane would be almost completely see-through, thanks to the creation of a biopolymer membrane. This membrane would make every seat into a window seat by default and allow you to see the world below as you pass it by.
The real power saving innovation was alluded to by Charles Champion, head of engineering for Airbus. When he described the plane to Telegraph he described a section of the plane known as the SmartTech zone. In this zone users body heat is converted in to power for the plane. Mr. Champion was not specific about in which systems would use body heat as a power source and which would not, which has raised some speculation as to what exactly humans will be the power source for.
The plane is not expected to be released until the year 2050, if it ever makes it off of the drawing board to begin with, so do not expect to be getting rides in a see-thru plane any time in the near future.
More information:
via Telegraph
© 2010 PhysOrg.com
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Jun 14, 2011
Rank: 4.2 / 5 (5)
Jun 14, 2011
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I'm pretty certain there was a transporter room in the video... I want those in 2050 just like people from the 1960s wanted jet packs by today
Jun 14, 2011
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Jun 14, 2011
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Jun 14, 2011
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But I did LOL at the leg room they show in coach. Reality is quickly trending in the opposite direction. By 2050, airlines will likely require you to "check" you legs before boarding.
Jun 14, 2011
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Jun 14, 2011
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http://dc.wikia.c...ible_Jet
Jun 14, 2011
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By then, teleport will be in vogue. No leg cramps...no baggage fees. No losing baggage...maybe a human during a power glitch(s) or operator error...plenty humans where they came from.
Jun 14, 2011
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Jun 14, 2011
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Jun 15, 2011
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I've heard 400 watts tossed around before as an average, in cooler temperatures. Apparently it was good to have bodies hanging around castles( pardon the pun) in the old days to keep the place relatively warm. 300 passengers times 400 watts, equals approx 120KW/ hour. Hmmmm... now where do we put the treadmills ?
Jun 15, 2011
Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
More like 100 Watts.
100 W * 3600 s * 24 = 8640 kJ = 2 065 kcal per day.
400 Watts is the average power an ordinary person in good shape can sustain in exercise. E.g. riding a bike. The actual work output however, is much smaller, because people are about as efficient as car engines in turning food to motion.
Jun 15, 2011
Rank: 5 / 5 (1)
A clock.
The surface area of a person is roughly 2 square meters, and the heat output is roughly 100 Watts, so if your wrist watch has a contact area of 10 cm^2 it gets a heat flux of 50 milliwatts.
The recoverable power from that heat flux is 2.75 milliwatts at maximum between body temperature and 20 C, and about 0.3 mW with real thermoelectric devices.
Your cellphone's standby power is on the order of 10-20 mW.
As you can already guess, the problem of harnessing people power is that if you want to get energy out of it, you have to cover the skin with something that cools you down, or lock the people up into a room that is covered in thermoelectric devices, where the interior temperature is 37 degrees C.
Jun 15, 2011
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Jun 15, 2011
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Jun 15, 2011
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I think not.
Jun 15, 2011
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They started designing the F-22 in the early 1980s and the first somewhat-functional production unit didn't roll off the line until 2001. In contrast, the Boeing 787 development started in 2003 and is scheduled to begin delivery at the end of this year. If the commercial sector really decides they want this, I'll bet they get it pretty quick...
Obviously, with 50 years of lead time, the industry doesn't want it too badly
Jun 15, 2011
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Jun 15, 2011
Rank: 2.3 / 5 (3)
Some people are already working on the technology, using Neutron/Neutron repulsion theory to inject Neutrons into the Iron Neutron Star that sits at the center of our sun.
"Does anyone seriously want to sit on an 8 hour plane ride, not only all cramped with no leg room, but with the full un-clouded sun blasting them in the face the whole way?" - Decimatus
Jun 19, 2011
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Jun 19, 2011
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