the burner is external to the envelope of helium

 

it functions more like a hotair/helium balloon hybrid.

 

inside the primary balloon which functions like a hot air balloon there is a secondary balloon filled with helium, the helium is heated by contact with the hot exhaust inflating the primary.

 

this will explain it better

Insane_alien, thanks. That is nifty. SM

That is at sea level.

What would happen if you build a vacuum sphere in outer space and sink it in the atmosphere? Would it float?*

 

Constructing a vacuum sphere at sea level looks like constructing a boat in the abyss.

 

* if it does I'll keep the Copyright.

What purpose would this have?

 

Normally, cargo is at the surface of the earth, and has to go somewhere else on the surface of the earth.

What purpose would this have?

 

Normally, cargo is at the surface of the earth, and has to go somewhere else on the surface of the earth.

 

To supervise the Earth.

Like a low altitude satellite, or a flying saucer.

Edited May 2, 201114 yr by michel123456

What purpose would this have?

 

Normally, cargo is at the surface of the earth, and has to go somewhere else on the surface of the earth.

 

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?

Edited May 2, 201114 yr by lemur

Because lighter than air vehicles gain the most lift at the bottom of the atmosphere where pressure is greatest and can only ascend up to the altitude where air pressure just counterbalances the weight of the craft, I don't see any benefit to dropping a balloon into the atmosphere from the top. It would just expend a whole bunch more money to achieve the same altitude. SM

If the skin's interior was appropriately insulated from electrical discharge, could it be filled with a small number of highly like-charged particles to equalize the pressure through the repulsive effect, while only trivially increasing mass?

 

This seems like it might have a better chance of working, especially if leaking some of the electric charge would be acceptable, though to keep with the spirit of the post it could be used on the surface of the balloon instead of as a gas. But then the weight of the insulator would become an issue.

This seems like it might have a better chance of working, especially if leaking some of the electric charge would be acceptable, though to keep with the spirit of the post it could be used on the surface of the balloon instead of as a gas. But then the weight of the insulator would become an issue.

 

Aluminized mylar, perhaps?

How about a skin of solar cells all over the blimp that heats the air inside instead of a gas burner? Or the solar cells heat up helium so it is more boyant, but not hot enough to ignite the helium?

I don't think you have to worry about igniting helium

@lemur Provided you need to use rigid materials anyway, instead of using a complete vacuum(which you must know requires too much by now) why not just make a hydrogen one that is evacuated to the point that the hydrogen is no longer significantly dangerous, can that be done? I don't know for sure but something like that should be possible. Say a 25% hydrogen balloon. Unless your specific application doesn't allow that? I'm about to ask my own question that's similarly related to that, so it's good to know some background information before then.

On 4/24/2011 at 8:42 AM, ewmon said:

What about a substance such as aerogel, but one that's produced in a vacuum or somehow evacuated after manufacture, and hermetically sealed within a skin?

Consider the airborne litter problem; an accident could leave sections of lighter than air materials floating around. Even widespread use of aerogels could be a problem - light enough to be blown about, not heavy enough to stay where it lands.

Edited September 26, 20223 yr by Ken Fabian