Retrofitted with 123-foot ‘WindWings,' 'Pyxis Ocean' is testing two giant sails on its six-week journey from China to Brazil.
A cargo ship with 123-foot ‘WindWing’ sails has just departed on its maiden voyage::Retrofitted with 123-foot ‘WindWings,’ ‘Pyxis Ocean’ is testing two giant sails on its six-week journey from China to Brazil.
Everything old made new again. I was watching a video the other day making a strong case for electric airships for short trips. They’re not as fast as planes but are far more efficient.
No it isn’t. That’s the late stage capitalism question. The real question is does the retrofitting offset enough nonrenewable energy usage, and I’d bet the wear and tear on a ship not designed to be powered that way will blow that savings out of the water.
Oh man I remember reading articles about this kind of tech in magazines like Popular Mechanics and Popular Science ages ago on how in the future ships might use these rigid sails to save fuel. They were always portrayed as being right around the corner, even though it was clearly not the case.
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Everything old made new again. I was watching a video the other day making a strong case for electric airships for short trips. They’re not as fast as planes but are far more efficient.
Yeah just don’t make the balloons out of thermite and fill them with hydrogen.
There was a famous non-cargo ship that had these when I was a kid.
The real question is how much is the retrofitting vs the cost saved through the ship’s life.
No it isn’t. That’s the late stage capitalism question. The real question is does the retrofitting offset enough nonrenewable energy usage, and I’d bet the wear and tear on a ship not designed to be powered that way will blow that savings out of the water.
Oh man I remember reading articles about this kind of tech in magazines like Popular Mechanics and Popular Science ages ago on how in the future ships might use these rigid sails to save fuel. They were always portrayed as being right around the corner, even though it was clearly not the case.
Wind is finally cheaper than oil and gas. 🙃
I too remember reading about this ships already 30y ago in the German P.M. mag.