Future Ships Could Float On Bubbles 314
MattSparkes writes, "Creating a layer of bubbles underneath a ship's hull could improve fuel efficiency by 20%. When you consider that 90% of the world's goods are transported by sea, the importance of this discovery is obvious. 'Conjured up from thin air at the flick of a switch, this slippery blanket will help transport a fully laden tanker or container ship across the ocean at higher speed, and using far less fuel, than ever before... There is currently no other technique in naval architecture that can promise such savings.'" The article looks in some detail at the engineering problems that will need to be overcome before this technique is practical.
Re:But how will it affect buoyancy? (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:no other technique??? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:no other technique??? (Score:2, Insightful)
That wouldn't be saving energy, that would be collecting it from an ubiquitous source. A sailing ship equipped with systems this research develops would outperform one without them.
Somehow using wind to suppliment conventional fuels is a good idea though. Why pay for what you can get for free?
clicky --> http://www.skysails.info/ [skysails.info]
Re:other options (Score:3, Insightful)
Oh gawd, not again (Score:2, Insightful)
I dislike greenies as much as the next guy, but adding polymer ejaculates to ships - battleships, ships of war, or just ships that have to go fast, to make them go faster or use less fuel.... ffs wtf are the thinking!?
From TFA: "The polymers probably won't damage the environment"
Let's start a famous quotes page, here are a few to kick things off:
Qld gov't: "The cane toads probably won't damage the environment"
B Gates: "You probably won't ever need more than 640k"
Local Dr: "This might sting a little bit"
Re:other options (Score:3, Insightful)
Propellor in front (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Don't some military ships use this? (Score:2, Insightful)
IIRC, they have a couple of rocket-powered supersonic torpedos that panicked the US Navy when first demonstrated...
You're probably referring to the "Shkval" torpedo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VA-111_Shkval [wikipedia.org]While certainly fast it's nowhere near supersonic, and furthermore it utilizes supercavitation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercavitation [wikipedia.org]
which is someting quite different from this technology.