Albatrosses can stay airborne for months without flapping their wings. To do this, the albatross uses a technique called DS flight. By swinging between areas of fast and slow wind, they make maximum use of the wind. – They use very little energy and can fly long, long distances, says Magnus Husby, professor at Nord University and professor II at the NTNU Science Museum. Now scientists will use the albatross technique in space. In this way, they hope to reach speeds humans have never been close to. Albatrosses fly long distances without using much energy. They can reach speeds of up to 130 kilometers per hour. Photo: Fer Nando / Unsplash Can break world records It’s easy to be fascinated by high speeds. The albatross’ 130 km/h is fast, but nothing compared to what humans have achieved. World record on land: 1,228 km/h by the “Thrust Supersonic Car”. In the air: 3,529 km/h by “Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird”. Blackbird holds the world record for speed in the Earth’s atmosphere. Photo: GARY CAMERON / Reuters In space, however, these records become microscopic. The robotic probe Parker Solar Probe is currently carrying out a seven-year research project. Before it is finished, it will reach a speed of 692,000 km/h. With that, it becomes the world’s fastest object built by humans, and the speed corresponds to 0.064 percent of the speed of light. The Parker Solar Probe mission is popularly called “A mission to touch the sun”. Photo: Nasa But a new research study written by two Americans and a Canadian believes this is only a fraction of the potential if we use the albatross technique. – Through DS flight, it seems possible for a vehicle to achieve speeds approaching 2 percent of the speed of light after a year and a half, the researchers write. Or about 21 million kilometers per hour. Voyager 1 is one of two man-made objects outside our solar system. It maintains a speed of 61,500 kilometers per hour. Photo: NASA Utilizing air currents Even if the Albatross flies a little slower, the researchers will use the same technique. – At sea there are often waves and in connection with each wave there is an upward wind current. Thus, the albatross gets buoyancy all the way where they fly so that they can sail on stiff wings without flapping their wings, explains Husby at Nord University. – The air currents associated with the waves mean that the albatross can fly almost exclusively by buoyancy, says Husby. Photo: Torsten Dederichs / Unsplash Husby explains that other birds can use wind currents up mountain slopes. These birds also fly almost without flapping their wings. – Like the albatross, they hang on stiff wings and can get far, far into the air. Then they float away before they find a new slope. It is incredibly effective. But how will this be utilized in space? With sails. Solar sails have been tested in the past, including by Japan, but researchers believe the potential is enormous. Photo: Nasa – Solseil is based on both light and solar wind, explains senior adviser Tyler Jones at the Norwegian Space Centre. He adds: – Light has no mass, but a lot of momentum because it has a high speed. In addition, the sails can utilize particles from the sun with a lot of energy. When this hits the sails it provides thrust. Do you think there is intellectual life elsewhere in the universe? Yes No I don’t know Show result Still too far to other stars? In the study, the researchers write that the albatross technique could be an important step on the way to other solar systems. By utilizing the energy the sun spews out in the same way that an albatross uses wind on Earth, a spaceship can theoretically increase its speed very quickly. In fact, the speed increase can continue until the spacecraft is 18 billion kilometers away from the sun. Outside this area, the energy from the sun decreases. – It will be possible to create acceleration until it gets outside this area, says Jones. But; how far away is 18 billion kilometers really? Let’s put things into perspective. The distance between the earth and the sun is 1 astronomical unit. At the end of the area where you can use the energy from the sun, there are 123 such units. – Voyager 1 reached the end of this area in 2012 and Voyager 2 in 2018. Then you look at the data that the wind speed meters no longer give results, Jones explains. Photo: NASA But the distance to the nearest star is 268,000 astronomical units. So 268,000 times further than to our star, the sun. – There will be a long waiting period before anything gets there, Jones asserts. Still a bad plan to escape – What’s interesting about this research is that they look at how we can refine sailing in space. How can we make the most of the speed from the solar wind? Jones says they need big wings just like the albatross. – They must have big sails. They will also make use of different currents and have wind in their sails through several currents at the same time. The stars in the sky may seem close, but they are far away. Very, very far away. Photo: Patrick da Silva Sæther / news Even at 2 percent of the speed of light, it is a long way to the nearest star. Very far. – It is 4200 light years to the nearest star, says Jones and laughs. In other words, escaping the solar system is not a very good plan for the time being. – But it will mean that you can get to, for example, Neptune and Pluto faster in a much shorter time. Voyager 2 took this image of Neptune in 1989. With new technology, it could take much less time to get to the planet. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Kevin M. Gill – Is this the most promising way to potentially get far into space as quickly as possible? – The constant thrust from the sun provides free energy. Over a few years, it will have a lot to say – and the acceleration will be great. If you are going to do research far out in the solar system and the budget is tight, this is a very promising technology. ALSO READ:
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How to get to other solar systems? Maybe fly like an albatross – news Nordland
