lemur

Hi Riya, Welcome. I guess you're into physics since you post your hello message here.

What if it could low enough to receive payloads from conventional jets? It seems like the problem with mediating between the atmosphere and orbit is that orbit is very fast relative to the atmosphere. So if you could have a series of buoyancy-vehicles at progressive speeds, couldn't they "hand off" payloads in sequence and by doing so accelerate the packages up to the speeds needed to maintain orbit?

Could a vacuous sphere "bounce and roll" into the atmosphere without burning up? Isn't the velocity needed dependent on gravity, which is dependent on altitude? Also, what about air pressure/density? Doesn't that make a different in drag?

That's a good idea to start from space and work down instead of working from sea-level up. Maybe such vehicles could be used to lower payloads slowly into the atmosphere to avoid re-entry friction and then carry some air up on their way back to space.

I haven't read the whole thread, sorry, but has anyone mentioned economics or general social science?

The only real value I saw in the neutrons was that I assumed they would be non-combustible, unlike hydrogen. I didn't know they decayed. I might have to start a new thread to discuss that. I suppose I'll throw in the discussion about why they don't follow ideal gas laws too. Interesting, thanks for raising these new questions for me.

This may sound naive, but could it be possible to contain and use free neutrons as a lighter than air gas? Of course, I don't know where you can get them except for as a by-product of radioactive decay.

Good memory. That thread was from @2008 on the posts I checked. I wonder if size somehow makes a difference. It has always baffled me that zeppelins like the Hindenburg appear to have had heavy steel frames and a heavy payload. I suppose that's my subjective impression though, so I should go google it. Thanks for posting the link to the old thread.

Lighter than air ships have been made to float using light gasses such as hydrogen and helium. Hot air balloons reduce the density of air by heating it. I wonder if it would be possible to make an air ship float by emptying the air out of it instead of replacing that air with light gas.