General
23 Jun 05
23 Jun 05
Originally posted by Shiny Knightwith a solar sail you just turn it like a mirror at differant angles,
I wonder if that solarwind spaceship has/had a rudder.
there will be a vector force to change direction. You have some
latitude in this I think but not enough to go sideways (tangentially)
to the sun much less tack INTO the sun. There are designs that
use very large mirrors shaped like bulls eyes, able to separate
the middle spot from the perifery, then let the bigger piece go
ahead and redirect light (sun or laser or whatever) back to the
smaller middle section which by now has a position between the
light source and the bigger mirror. The bigger mirror, being farther
away can now redirect its light to the back of the smaller one and thus
slow it down.
24 Jun 05
Originally posted by Mat KelleyDon't forget the centerboard stops the wind from blowing the boat sideways.
The no go area for sailing, and some boats sail "closer to the wind" than others, is 45° either side of the wind direction (F in your case). You then angle you sail in line with the direction of the wind by letting out the sheet (bit of rope) and the sail works in the same way as an aeroplane wing. Hope that helps in someway.
As for balloons, you don ...[text shortened]... asing ballons that can be fun! You have to know the roads quite well to get to where they land..
24 Jun 05
Originally posted by Daemon SinFart.
Not a question you hear everyday, but one that is bugging me right now.
Having talked to a few knowledgable people and done a bit of online checking, it seems that hot air balloons are steered by wind. Apparently at differnet heights in the atmosphere the winds blow in different directions.... this seems CRAZY to me!!!
All you got is a big frickin b ...[text shortened]... one know how to steer them? Are there any budding balloonist out there who can explain this?! 😕
24 Jun 05
All I remember from when I went up last summer is that you need to wear a hat. The damn heat hurts whenever the "driver" (lol) blows the flame up. Wear a hat.
I also remember something about... The higher you go, the slower you go. Balloons fly up just to slow down. If you just let it go, you'd go quite fast - I suppose.