NationStates Jolt Archive

(Read with good humour at your peril)
A kite to help pull a ship I think is a really good idea.
However with all good ideas there are problems which i have narrowed down to the following,
Extra costs to making the kite. Cancelled out with more fuel efficiency.
Increases chances of lightning hitting the ship.
If kite broke off from the ship it could cause damage to other boats or people.
Kites are evil because they can fly.
Might create a distraction for the ship's crew, might encourage unnatural behaviour like flying other kites.
Ship might keel over with the kite pulling it one way or another, and reduce control of the ship.

Good things about the kite,
Saves fuel.
Allows other ships to see those large tankers sooner, and allow time for them to adjust course.
Kite functions to save power even when wind is not behind it.
Kite operates in more stable winds than at sea level.
The Kite will not create a distraction for the ships crew.
Kites are not evil.
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7201887.stm
BBC news.
I thought this would be interesting to discuss, and a change from the God/Ethical/Political/US hating or supporting (or other) threads.
So I ask you do you think this Kite design is safe? Is it ethical? Would God approve of it? Would it increase the numbers of Kites stolen in stores worldwide?
Personally I think the Kite design is safe in some areas, but creates distractions. It is ethical to a point, as it saves fuel. I think that a God would disapprove of this as it would look silly, one must operate to show meticulous grace in all matters, not flying kites. I think Kite sales would increase.
Oh and I welcome any serious posts if you can think of any.

The world's first commercial cargo ship partially powered by a giant kite is setting sail...
Y'know, I could have sworn that I learned about sail-powered ocean vessels when I was a wee boy... and some of them had oars for use when the wind wasn't blowing/favourable.

If God does disaprove, He will evidently show His displeasure by smiting the kite with all His almighty wrath.

Kites do not fly as they are usually attached to the ground/deck. Only a released kite is evil, as it is flying. That kite was standing straight up, as all kites have the right to do.

Y'know, I could have sworn that I learned about sail-powered ocean vessels when I was a wee boy... and some of them had oars for use when the wind wasn't blowing/favourable.

next if they can't afford the fuel the crews will have to man huge oars, hell why not add a sail as well?
Shiver me timbers.

the main problem is the kite breaking away during high winds because it's only secured by cables...

what if the kite was secured to a large... pillar of some sort, that way it can also be twisted and turned to catch the wind as well as optimizing the pull.

if attached to such a pillar, then it can easily be stowed and deployed depending on weather.

hmmm... I wonder if such a design is feasable...

the main problem is the kite breaking away during high winds because it's only secured by cables...

what if the kite was secured to a large... pillar of some sort, that way it can also be twisted and turned to catch the wind as well as optimizing the pull.

if attached to such a pillar, then it can easily be stowed and deployed depending on weather.

hmmm... I wonder if such a design is feasable...


By god! Someone has stolen your idea!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Tall_ship_Christian_Radich_under_sail.jpg

correct answers in white, sarcasm in black

So I ask you do you think this Kite design is safe?

Yes Clearly not! The drivers will be distracted by all those pictures of naked women that are sure to adorn such heathenish kites.

Is it ethical?

Yes Absolutely not! But it would not be of any use if it was.

I think that a God would disapprove of this as it would look silly, one must operate to show meticulous grace in all matters, not flying kites.

Joke coming up! The most divine LG would surely approve of anything as silly as this!


I realize that others have probably beaten me to it though.

I can't believe that this is the first sail used on a modern cargo vessel. Haven't they been proposing this for years?

I'm sure i remember seeing a model of one in the national Maritime museum.

That's frickin' awesome! I think God would approve, though He might be really sarcastic about it:

"Oh, a kite! How bloody brilliant. I provide your planet with an easily accessible source of kinetic energy, and it only took you a century or so to figure out that it might be cheaper to use a kite than to dig up tons of liquefied dinosaur from miles underground. How very clever you are! Shall we learn next that sunshine can be used to warm things?"

Come to think of it, I don't think I could stand the God-taunting. Better scrap the kite.

That's frickin' awesome! I think God would approve, though He might be really sarcastic about it:

"Oh, a kite! How bloody brilliant. I provide your planet with an easily accessible source of kinetic energy, and it only took you a century or so to figure out that it might be cheaper to use a kite than to dig up tons of liquefied dinosaur from miles underground. How very clever you are! Shall we learn next that sunshine can be used to warm things?"

Come to think of it, I don't think I could stand the God-taunting. Better scrap the kite.

I suggest building a giant windmill that catches the high powered winds as the earth rotates, not just one giant windmill, but a patchwork of mills linked together and raised up high on a mountain to get stronger winds (which would also increase economic prosperity of mountianous regions, and provide jobs, and would create a brilliant landmark for any nation that creates one).

Halfway there already: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wildnatureimages.com/images%25203/060302-071..jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.wildnatureimages.com/Windmill_Pictures.htm&h=600&w=400&sz=77&hl=en&start=5&um=1&tbnid=kq8CTnrYkD17BM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=90&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcalifornia%2Bwindmills%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN

NO! they aren't BIG ENOUGH, larger wind turbines, more power to windy places.
As a longer term goal i think we should set up Iron mines on The Planet Mercury, and transport the Iron over when the planets are in ideal flying distance from each other.
Can use the extra heat from the sun to power the space ships, it's obvious really. And create windturbines on the moon, and other solid planets

I suggest building a giant windmill that catches the high powered winds as the earth rotates, not just one giant windmill, but a patchwork of mills linked together and raised up high on a mountain to get stronger winds (which would also increase economic prosperity of mountianous regions, and provide jobs, and would create a brilliant landmark for any nation that creates one).

Halfway there already: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wildnatureimages.com/images%25203/060302-071..jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.wildnatureimages.com/Windmill_Pictures.htm&h=600&w=400&sz=77&hl=en&start=5&um=1&tbnid=kq8CTnrYkD17BM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=90&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcalifornia%2Bwindmills%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN

I suppose the trick is building the windmills tall enough that they don't disturb the birds, but not so tall that they get in the way of airplanes, which would look silly anyway.

Though maybe with astounding advances in super-fast kite-powered hydrofoils and bullet trains there wouldn't be that much demand for air travel.

NO! they aren't BIG ENOUGH, larger wind turbines, more power to windy places.
As a longer term goal i think we should set up Iron mines on The Planet Mercury, and transport the Iron over when the planets are in ideal flying distance from each other.
Can use the extra heat from the sun to power the space ships, it's obvious really. And create windturbines on the moon, and other solid planets

I like your way of thinking :cool:

I suppose the trick is building the windmills tall enough that they don't disturb the birds, but not so tall that they get in the way of airplanes, which would look silly anyway.

Though maybe with astounding advances in super-fast kite-powered hydrofoils and bullet trains there wouldn't be that much demand for air travel.

Birds? BIRDS! honestly who gives a hoot about them? there's loads of them about as it is, i think as a deterrant to birds the windmills should be razor edged, in fact they could harness the cutting power to cut... well things that need cutting in the heavy industry.
I think an even better source of energy is a solar powered satillite windmill, it can power itself and have energy left over and reduce chances of nuclear weapons from flying into other countries, by chopping them up in mid orbit.

I <3 kites.

Hey they could make the supertankers fly with enough kites which would reduce fuel costs almost completely, like a giant Zeppelin a STEEL Zeppelin, just hope it doesn't crash anywhere like on a city, you'd need tanker paths, they would be pretty slow too but for the saving of costs on fuel i think it's worth it.

[Emily Litella]

I think this whole business of using kikes to power tanker ships is just dreadful. Haven't the Jewish people suffered enough? They go through the Holocaust, fight for their new nation's existence and then fight again for it's survival -- have none of you seen Exodus?!? There's no way that people should use kikes to help propel supertankers. How would they even do it, anyway? Swim with a tow-rope? Even if you had a thousand kikes pulling a tanker, it wouldn't go very fast. Also, I'm pretty sure the word "kike" is offensive to Jews anyway, so I doubt they'd line up to pull your tankers. Besides, they...what? What?!? Oh! Kites! Oh, yes, I see, kites.

Nevermind.

[/Emily_Litella]

I see my mistake in my last post was that I forgot to include my plans for a giant international system of carrier pigeons to cope with all of the radio interference caused by all the giant windmills. Clearly pigeons would have an important role to play in the NWWO (New World Windmill-Based Order) and would need to be protected. But I do like the idea of a giant solar-powered windmill. It could hang in the air over the ocean and every morning we could see the sunrise flicker through its rotating blades, it would be very pretty.

But because of the radio interference caused by the giant windmills, you'd create the extra satellites to take phone signals and such, powered by wind and solar energy.

Birds? BIRDS! honestly who gives a hoot about them? there's loads of them about as it is, i think as a deterrant to birds the windmills should be razor edged, in fact they could harness the cutting power to cut... well things that need cutting in the heavy industry.
I think an even better source of energy is a solar powered satillite windmill, it can power itself and have energy left over and reduce chances of nuclear weapons from flying into other countries, by chopping them up in mid orbit.


I see my mistake in my last post was that I forgot to include my plans for a giant international system of carrier pigeons to cope with all of the radio interference caused by all the giant windmills. Clearly pigeons would have an important role to play in the NWWO (New World Windmill-Based Order) and would need to be protected. But I do like the idea of a giant solar-powered windmill. It could hang in the air over the ocean and every morning we could see the sunrise flicker through its rotating blades, it would be very pretty.