Best method of high speed propulsion?

[malazn mafia]

Just had a funny thought about what is the most effective method of high speed propulsion. If you are walking along the pavement looking down at ants travelling along the pavement, they are moving quite fast in relation to their size but extremely slow compared to a human leisurely walking along. Similarly in an aircraft you look down at cars travelling along the freeway and they appear just as ants. If we were travelling in a large machine with legs a few storeys high, wouldn't we effectively be able to achieve quite amazing speeds in the vicinity of 400kph with little energy required and less risk of accidents apart from stepping on something by mistake and flattening it, or tripping over?

[aussiblue]

with little energy required

No; we use more energy than ants as would something larger again (all other things being equal use proportionately more energy). We wouldn't last long on an ant's daily food intake.

[Moby Vic]

E = mc^2

[aussiblue]

Then there is Kleiber's law; for the vast majority of animals, an animal's metabolic rate scales to the ¾ power of the animal's mass.

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

No; we use more energy than ants as would something larger again (all other things being equal use proportionately more energy). We wouldn't last long on an ant's daily food intake.

How does it compare with using a Jet engine for propulsion for instance?

[zilo]

I could go into orbit like a satellite and travel at 40,000km/h with no propulsion at all?

[Blue Roo]

In Star Wars.
Han Solo used the jump to Light Speed in the Millennium Falcon.

[Jack960]

It becomes redundant if you consider the energy required, larger parts means more mass and more friction thus more energy required.

[jimt3te50]

I thought this conversation would turn into a ****take but you guys are all way too smart for me.

I just push the pedal further to the floor...

[ford man xf]

Flux Capacitor without a doubt.

[CoupeKing]

An Atomic Powered Bullet Train would be fairly effective. Well until Nana stalls the Datsun 180b on the crossing.

[burnz]

scram jet, once you form the sonic cone less friction.
super cruise.. LOL

[pottery beige]

rockets man.. rockets rock

[Blue Roo]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

rockets man.. rockets rock

Just like a Warner Bros Cartoon.
When the Coyote chasing the Road Runner down the road. With an Acme rocket strapped to the Coyote's back on roller skates.
Classic!

[Franco Cozzo]

Not sure about the best method of high speed propulsion but for low speed propulsion you can't beat a cruise ship

Chillin with 2000 other people on the booze doing a max 30km/h across the ocean.

[mr_xlr8]

For a moment i gave this some serious thought...but only for a moment. Go the PUB section.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by zilo

I could go into orbit like a satellite and travel at 40,000km/h with no propulsion at all?

But you still need a propulsion source and energy to get you there in the first place.

[mik]

Busa !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqs3AqZNUoY

[In Focus]

Maglev, as in the bullet trains in Japan.

[jpblue1000]

Originally Posted by In Focus

Maglev, as in the bullet trains in Japan.

Bullet trains are conventional bogie trains and actually quite slow by modern standards(320Km's/h) However impressive none the less. The operational maglev trains of Asia and experimental in Europe are setting impressive speeds (430 commercial and 500+ km/h records)
and they are electric.

JP

[Dash_XR]

Originally Posted by Moby Vic

E = mc^2

That's what I was thinking, what do nukes go off at nearly the speed of light? Just got to scale it down and sort the radiation problem.

[uniacidz]

The NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) Project is theoretically the fastest propulsion.

They estimate will be able to get to 200,000mph

Take a long time to get that speed though





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[Lunch]

Its quite a simple solution that requires only 2 words, its the fastest ive ever gotten around that for sure....
"Rental car"