Why are we stuck at fossil fuels and mechanical bits & bobs
Discussion
This could well expose me as the conspiracy theory nut that I am but is the above really a dumb question?
A better question would be how come the population don't stop and think about how long ago it was when we made advances so quickly and then....
Of all the times you strap yourself into your seat waiting for take-off, have you never thought why is this particular sector so technologically stunted.
Where's the progress? I don't class improved fuel economy and increased capacity as progress, virtually every other part of our daily life is impacted by advances made at a pace that makes sense. Modes of transport have big impacts on life, shouldn't it be setting the pace of progress?
Simplistic thinking, there's taking the piss and then there's massively taking piss.
:-)
A better question would be how come the population don't stop and think about how long ago it was when we made advances so quickly and then....
Of all the times you strap yourself into your seat waiting for take-off, have you never thought why is this particular sector so technologically stunted.
Where's the progress? I don't class improved fuel economy and increased capacity as progress, virtually every other part of our daily life is impacted by advances made at a pace that makes sense. Modes of transport have big impacts on life, shouldn't it be setting the pace of progress?
Simplistic thinking, there's taking the piss and then there's massively taking piss.
:-)
Perhaps there are only so many advances to be made - or that the higher up the tree you get, the harder each successive one becomes. And there are a limited number of elements in the periodic table to play with, and then there's money to think about.
We use fossil fuels because they're cheap and hold a fantastic amount of energy. How many batteries does it take to match the energy in a tank of diesel? (and where is all the lithium going to come from and what about its mining and recycling, and where is the energy going to come from to power all the cars and think of all the cables draped across the pavement)
Moving away from the fuels debate, my view is that the second half of the 20th century saw most of the gains. Since then we've invented the internet and telephones that can access it. And a thing that sits in a can and turns the lights off when you talk to it. We need nuclear fusion and a man on Mars.
We use fossil fuels because they're cheap and hold a fantastic amount of energy. How many batteries does it take to match the energy in a tank of diesel? (and where is all the lithium going to come from and what about its mining and recycling, and where is the energy going to come from to power all the cars and think of all the cables draped across the pavement)
Moving away from the fuels debate, my view is that the second half of the 20th century saw most of the gains. Since then we've invented the internet and telephones that can access it. And a thing that sits in a can and turns the lights off when you talk to it. We need nuclear fusion and a man on Mars.
Flying Phil said:
One factor that has a significant effect on transport technology is the human body in terms of size, weight, capacity to absorb forces etc etc....... not changed for the past few centuries.
I'd suggest a few hundred thousand years. But a continous gentle acceleration can work wonders - and then there are wormholes of course... if you can't find on, warp space and make your own...I find that fossil fuels are unfairly demonised. Yes they will run out one day (but so will the lithium) and they give off CO2 when burned but it's only returning it to the atmosphere where it came from. The biggest threat to advancement may be the eco-lobby, half-baked science and their mindless followers on social media.
magpie215 said:
2 world wars made us move massively forwards with technology......but I'm thinking a 3rd wouldn't be that helpful
World War 3 is practically already happening, global conflicts maybe but its a "see you next Tuesday" hair from the point of no return..Is it possible to hold the view that the gains gotten from the two world wars were a kickstarter, I really don't believe that a third world war would see a repeat.
I know that the elite hold all the cards, and the past present and future all look the same, but there will come a time when change will be the only course.
Was it the 50's or the 60's when the federal government poured over a hundred million dollars into developing a successful compact nuclear powered propulsion system for space exploration. Only for it to be cancelled.
Electrogravitics isn't science fiction, its science fact, that and other proven technologies are all under wraps. Its so pathetic that we can't even do something already achieved, like traverse the van Allen belt.
As for costs/funding, black budgets are well funded, although a drop in the ocean compared to the trillions that have gone missing.
I bet if the likes of the iPhones were regressed back to 1990's standards of push button green screens, people would be rioting (and detoxing!)!
The phone in my hand has more computing power than all of NASA's 1969 capabilities combined! But we're still digging holes to extract oil to fuel our extremely advanced flying tin cans! Even to my average everyday eyes, that doesn't look right.
Experts condemned Richard Trevithick and his colleagues, claiming that if a women where to ride their inventions, their uterus would fly out of their bodies under the unsafe acceleration and speed! Any possible boundaries and limits are temporary, with the future of artificial intelligence, any intentions to deter progression will be out of our hands!
Pacman1978 said:
The phone in my hand has more computing power than all of NASA's 1969 capabilities combined! But we're still digging holes to extract oil to fuel our extremely advanced flying tin cans! Even to my average everyday eyes, that doesn't look right
Computing power is not related to energy sources. Perhaps H. sapiens has become too obsessed with 'computing power' to concentrate on other things.How would you propose to shift x00 tons of space rocket from earth into space?
Pacman1978 said:
Where's the progress? I don't class improved fuel economy and increased capacity as progress, virtually every other part of our daily life is impacted by advances made at a pace that makes sense. Modes of transport have big impacts on life, shouldn't it be setting the pace of progress?
Are you talking about boats, planes, or trains?Fossil fuel boats are really only something from the last 150-200 or so years, before that, it was all renewable energy (i.e. sails or oars). As discussed on the Scottish Independence thread, CalMac have started ordering diesel/battery and diesel/LNG ferries, so hopefully better consumption or at least fewer nasty emissions.
Trains, well, I guess you could argue that electric trains don't need to be fossil fuel powered - the Swiss put in loads of electrification because they had a lot of hydro and not much coal. Same with the Norwegians. In terms of fuel economy, things like regenerative brakes are a lot more common than they used to be and, like cars, vehicle weights are starting to come down after years of bloat.
Planes, er, not much other than fossil fuels available there if you want to do more than glide for a bit!
But yes - if you looked at the current landscape vs 60 years ago, all the basics are pretty much the same, albeit more advanced. Hell, the LNER even had re-gen brakes on their Woodhead trains!
The recent (last 200years) industrial revolution is pretty much entirely based upon cheap, energy dense hydrocarbon fuels being burned in highly in-efficient heat engines.
Until there is some significant scientific break trough that renders thermodynamics obsolete, our human endeavor is going to be necessarily limited by those fundamental factors.....
Until there is some significant scientific break trough that renders thermodynamics obsolete, our human endeavor is going to be necessarily limited by those fundamental factors.....
Pacman1978 said:
I bet if the likes of the iPhones were regressed back to 1990's standards of push button green screens, people would be rioting (and detoxing!)!
I may have misunderstood your point, but many of the technological advances which make a smartphone what it is, came about through government investment into military projects. Listen to the 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy podcast and there’s an episode which covers it better than I can.Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff