The solar powered airplane Solar Impulse has landed in California after a three day journey across the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii. This leg of the journey was the riskiest because of the lack in landing locations. The plane uses 17,000 photovoltaic cells on its top surfaces to recieve and use all its energy from the sun. These power the plane during the day and charge batteries to run on at night. The five-night, five-day journey across Oman, India, Myanmar, and China set a record for the longest ever non-stop solo airplane journey. The plane is next expected to land in New York and then begin its Atlantic crossing, returning to Abu Dhabi.
It is highly impressive that an airplane has been created which runs on solar power, now perhaps passenger airplanes can be created that don't emit heavy gas emissions. This scientific improvement reminds me of the Space Race between the U.S. and Soviet Union in the mid-1900s during the Cold War. The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, on October 4, 1957. The U.S., competing with the Soviets, launch Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969, and Neil Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the moon. These technological advances today wouldn't be where they are without the early competition in spaceflight capabilities.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36122618
I think that this is super cool! Hopefully they can improve this model enough so that every airplane can run on solar power. We need more ways to fuel transportation with clean energy so this is definitely a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteThis is a huge step for the conservation movement. I hope that one day all airplanes can run on solar power, and even things like electrical cars can become more accessible (in price).
ReplyDeleteJasmine Rodriguez Period 4
Matthew Homsher 9th-That's cool that even though it's solar powered it can run even during the night. That's a huge accomplishment in its own right.
ReplyDeleteTeddy would be proud
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