Exosphere: Others knew it too. Teresa's sharp eyes picked out sparkling glints which were aircraft - jets and the more common, whalelike zeppelins.
Lithosphere: "If we hurry we can make it to Drop Point by eight and catch the last zep into Butte"
Context
Lighter than air transport has the following points in favour in a society that is increasingly conscious of its impact on the environment:
- no fuel wasted in staying aloft
- no need for infrastructure (ie roads)
- flexibility (ie not bound to infrastructure)
- it avoids the contrails that have been found to be a significant contributor to greenhouse warming.
It has one large drawback; the lack of a convenient source of buoyancy:
- hydrogen is too dangerous (remember the Hindenberg: actually this is a perceptual thing since hydrogen is OK so long as you isolate it from oxygen!)
- helium is too expensive to make it attractive for mass transportation.
Status: Likely
Reality
70 years after the Hindenberg disaster, lighter than air transport is poised to make a comeback. Whether it becomes the transport of choice for medium-long haul journeys is moot.
A little speculation of mine own:
with hydrogen too dangerous, and helium too expensive, what else could be used to provide bouyancy?
(The answer is, of course, nothing at all!;-)
Update
- Sep 27, 2006: Recent reports suggest that the conditions for a revival of airship travel are becoming more favorable. I think the status can remain at 'Unknown' for the moment, however.
References
- Aviation and Climate Change - Wikipedia
- Return of the Airship? - Jeremy Faludi
- Why We Need An X Prize for Eco-Friendly Air Travel - Alex Steffen
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