Absolutely Rediculous Physics Question

[sareth]

Okay, so the other day I was mulling over the question of how to armor plate a lighter than air vessel. Which is, of course, patently ridiculous and pointless. Never-the-less, I would like to lay down a train of (il)logic here, then ask any of you physics/engineer types who read me to ponder something, and maybe even do some number crunching if

Comments

[anonymous]

a harsh scolding from its mother? tee hee MPU

[sareth]

It's sensitive, Hydrogen is...

[skorpy]

You're not the first one to have the vaccuum idea. Many early flying machines used it, to no avail. They were just too heavy.

Armour plating a lighter than air vessel is like fuelling a spacecraft. You need more gas to make up for the armour, but you need to armour THAT. So you get bigger and bigger and heavier and heavier.

What you really need is really light armour, and a lot of gas. So you'd have to go nuclear to get power to haul hydrogen and helium out the atmosphere through electrolysis, and find some sort of miracle structure to stop shrapnel, missiles, and shell hits that's really lightweight.
Carbon nanotubes would be your best bet there, or some kind of forcefield.

You'd really be better off making a Helicarrier.

[sareth]

Helicarrier? MAN that would take some serious energy... But it's an interesting idea...

[skorpy]

It works for Marvel comics. Just stick a set of huge turbines and a frame to a Nimitz-class, and you're good.

[coryrain]

I have nothing to add, but this:

[sareth]

RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!

^_^

How close are you to finishing your current Do It Yourself Project, there, Miss mommy to be?