If your left hand positioned so that magnetic lines of force were in hand, and four elongated fingers indicate the direction of current and the conductor,…
(Physics textbook)
Who did not have to memorize this simple rule from a school textbook! A lot of it sunk in memory because talked about tainstvennaya the process occurring in almost any electrical appliance — from a demonstration galvanometer to huge modern motor. The essence of these sacraments is something akin to the great law of Archimedes: on the conductor in a magnetic field and is immersed in the fluid body, the force of buoyancy acts vertically upwards.
Place the palm of your left hand so that its surface was perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic Meridian of the Earth. Your hand penetrate the invisible arrows of the magnetic field lines of the Earth. Please note where your “absent big toe”. Yes, exactly where with enthusiasm and hope looked KRASOTY and Montgolfier, Mozhaisk and the Wright brothers in the sky.
Is there could rise, as in the school experience, a giant conductor — an unusual propulsion unprecedented aerial vehicle. Enough just skip electric current through it the necessary strength and the magnetic field is at any point in the near-earth space. Accordingly, by providing the conductor location-mover relative to the magnetic field, get the right vehicle lift. How is designed to look like an aircraft — let’s call it ele-copter, using as a support not air, and the Earth’s magnetic field?
The main part of it’s system of the superconducting windings. Each turn of this winding will be a rectangle with a sufficiently large ratio of length to width. The lower part of the loop must be closed by the magnetic shield. To maintain ultra low temperatures in the coil onboard helicopter should be cryogenic installation.
For horizontal movement it is possible, as the helicopter, use the vertical lift unit or, for high-speed options, set, e.g., turbojet.
Perhaps the most interesting problem in the creation of elecopter ego problem handling. The fact that you have no influence on the lifting force by changing the current in the winding is energetically unprofitable. It is much better to use magnitosoprotivlenie screens, covering now a part of the winding (in this case, the lifting force is reduced) or fully opening it (lifting force reaches a maximum).
There is another interesting problem — orientation system of the windings relative to the direction of magnetic field lines. The fact that the lift force will reach a maximum only in the case when the plane of the loop perpendicular to the direction vector of the magnetic field of the Earth.
Therefore, you need some kind of system that in all evolutions of elecopter would allow unit coils to be placed in only one position relative to the intensity vector. But this problem can be solved. See figure 3. By the interaction of magnetic fields and palowitch (because the lower part of the coil is closed magnetoliposomes screen), in addition to the lift force, there is another pair of forces acting on the vertical part Polovinka. Their direction is such that any change in the position of the coil relative to the intensity vector of the magnetic field this force couple will return the round to its original position, where the plane of the loop perpendicular to the vector of magnetic field intensity. Thus, the system of coils can be autostabilisation in the Earth’s magnetic field.
What’s new will bring such aircraft, what advantages will have? One of the most important qualitative differences — quiet vertical takeoff and, therefore, noiseless vertical landing. After all, modern airfields cannot be placed near cities. And helicopter landing pad will be able to serve even the town square. The transition from the mode of “hovering” in the horizontal flight regime may occur at a fairly high altitude, this will be offset by the noise “clogging” of the city.
— But let will argue that the skeptic, the magnetic field of the Earth is too small to create this lifting force. It is a thousand times smaller than the magnetic field strength in the gap of the conventional permanent magnet!
— Once a small magnetic field, then you need to increase the amperage, — retorted the optimist.
— But the increase in current will result in large energy consumption, will increase dramatically weight because of the increased diameter of wires — does not give the skeptic.
— Well, applied superconductivity, and all the costs will be reduced to maintain a low temperature, the current in the superconducting winding, requiring no additional “injections” from outside to circulate in the winding indefinitely.
— But superconductors do not tolerate higher currents, the superconductivity is destroyed under the action of its own magnetic field — persists skeptic.
Let’s leave the skeptics alone, especially as the optimist it’s hard to argue his last sentence. Indeed, there is even superconductors that operate at sufficiently high temperatures, ensuring efficiency of their application; the currents on them can be skipped, still are not large enough to ensure that their interaction with the magnetic field of the Earth created a noticeable lift.
But today a well-known alloys, which have a critical temperature of superconductivity is around 100° K (or -173° C), which allows instead of expensive liquid helium are much cheaper liquid hydrogen. It is already known electromagnets with superconducting windings that create a magnetic field 170 thousand Oersted. Already made model of superconducting power transmission lines, and scientists are talking seriously about efficiency of their application in the not too distant future.
Of course, before the creators of helicopter will rise a lot of problems. For example, the large weight of the cryogenic installation. And the need for its ongoing work — in flight, in the Parking lot, etc., so as to disable or activate it due to the enormous energy consumption. For reference, here is a few numbers. To create lift 10 tons system of 1000 turns, the length of the horizontal part of which is 10 m, the required current in each coil power 150 thousand A.
At low altitudes and velocities, the loss of lift could lead to disastrous situations (as well as all vehicles with vertical takeoff and landing). It also needs to be addressed.
And yet… the Rapid pace of development of science and technology. And seen a time when the Central terminal can receive the sparkle neon sign: “Fly helicoptere — fast, cheap, convenient.” And the stores will be the latest models of bemobile and birolleau. A time when the city will return the quiet and clean air of the fields and forests…
I. EVSTRATOV, design engineer
