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[Angle]

But Vacuum balloons are cooler! and just because they're too expensive now doesn't mean they always will be.

[i2amroy]

But Vacuum balloons are cooler! and just because they're too expensive now doesn't mean they always will be.

Sure, but cost and practicality beat coolness every time (except for with eccentric billionaires) . Unless something crazy happens that causes the cost and safety of establishing and maintaining a vacuum to be cheaper than that of helium (since even if you get a cheap frame to hold your vacuum in you could just use that for a helium blimp), then I don't ever foresee a time where we're going to have a large number of vacuum blimps floating around. Most likely outcome is that we'll eventually have a small handful in places where the security is a worthy trade-off for the small amount of additional lifting power, but that's probably going to be it.

[Putnam]

I'm just waiting for material science to produce a lightweight material capable of withstanding the implosive pressure of "containing" a vacuum, so people will finally stop laughing at me when I propose vacuum balloons.

The implosive pressure is 101,325 Pa, which is... actually quite small. For comparison, the compressive strength of iron is ~600,000,000 Pa.

[wierd]

The problem is the young modulus. Not total strength.

You want a material that is lightweight, OBSCENELY rigid, and is able to withstand a considerable static bending load.

Vacuum balloons would require a very thin membrane, as do normal balloons, since the lift force is pretty weak-- you need as little material holding the outside pressure out as is possible.

The problem is that you need thin AND rigid AND lightweight AND strong.

That's a combination you are unlikely to find, outside of something that is actively forced into being held open-- such as with strong EM fields.

[Aklyon]

Considering how much carbon showed up on the previous page, could we use it for this too? :p

[Descan]

And thus, electromagnetically enclosed balloons were conceived!

[MaximumZero]

Nah, it's just really good at bonding. Neil deGrasse Tyson says, ""because it's the slut of the periodic table, it binds with all different elements in many different ways: from behind, from above..." (Note: the original joke was made by Jon Stewart, which Tyson then riffed on later.)

[Sergarr]

It also has the magical number of available electrons (4) which make it very flexible in both taking and giving away.

[Urist Arrhenius]

It also has the magical number of available electrons (4) which make it very flexible in both taking and giving away.

This doesn't really account for out so much as abundance does. Many elements have more oxidation states and geometries available because they have d electrons available to move around. They just aren't as abundant.

[Bauglir]

Is Zach Weiner reading this thread or something?

[scrdest]

Is Zach Weiner reading this thread or something?

E: Nevermind.

[Furtuka]

Biohacker team obtain temporary nightvision via special eyedrops

[ChairmanPoo]

Biohacker team obtain temporary nightvision via special eyedrops

With those eyes he looks like a he's possessed.

His name was Geralt of Rivia....

[Descan]

I'm all for biohacking, but my first thought on hearing that was "Dear god please let him have tested that first."

Eyes are so fucking fragile, I'm not about to put random liquids into them in hopes that I can see clearer. More likely to have gone blind than see better.

[scrdest]

Biohacker team obtain temporary nightvision via special eyedrops

With those eyes he looks like a he's possessed.

Is this how you get bogeyman? Yes it is!