DailyDirt: Odd Vehicles

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Lots of researchers are working on creating more efficient methods of transportation, but some folks just like building unique vehicles. Sometimes energy efficiency can't be the main concern in designing a new vehicle. Here are some weird and somewhat impractical ways of getting from A to B.

• The FanWing is an unusual-looking plane with a short take-off ability. As its name implies, it has fans in its wings that generate thrust... [url]
• If a motorcycle isn't dangerous enough for you, try strapping yourself to a hoverbike. Even though the creators of the hoverbike say otherwise, the stability of this contraption does not look too promising. [url]
• A huge tunnel boring machine called Big Becky emerged from under Niagara Falls a few weeks ago. It started in 2006 and dug for a little over 6 miles, so that's a pretty slow 0.00014 miles per hour. [url]
• The Leidenfrost effect could be used on the hull of a ship to reduce drag. But heating up a ship's hull so that it can instantly vaporize ocean water seems like a fairly energy-intensive way to reduce friction. [url]
• To discover other interesting transportation-related content, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: leidenfrost effect, stol, transportation