Innovation – High Tech
The Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard aboard the Solar Impulse./Photo AFP.
Yesterday, the aircraft solar Impulse 2 that runs on solar energy, has landed safely in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, completing and his world tour
More than 40,000 kilometers across four continents. this is the journey has ended yesterday the aircraft Solar Impulse 2 (SI2), in 23 days of actual flight . A tour of the historical world achieved through solar energy and without a drop of fuel. This achievement will undoubtedly open new technological prospects.
“The future is clean”
Weighing a ton and a half but as wide as a Boeing 747, flew SI2 an average speed of about 80 km / h thanks to batteries that store solar energy captured by some 17,000 solar cells on its wings. “The future is clean,” launched its Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard, after the 17th and last stage of a tour to promote renewable energy. This performance seems indeed a new era. “It’s so exciting” to fly on a plane that does not “pop” and creates “no pollution”, “we believe that it is science fiction, but it’s actually the reality of today, “said the driver. Thus, having found an efficient way to store electrical energy, will allow the electric propulsion “gradually become the norm,” according to Mr. Borschberg, the second pilot of Solar Impulse 2.
large groups such as Airbus and NASA have also begun work on the subject.
the two pilots of Solar Impulse, do not intend to stop there way. There is an intention to develop solar drones and write a book. Mr Piccard also proposed the creation of an international committee of clean technologies to “advise governments” and “the fight against climate change.”
A human challenge
in addition to technological performance, the world tour of Solar Impulse 2 is a human achievement. The two Swiss have led in turn to a cockpit 3.8 m2 without air conditioning or heating, but equipped with a toilet area and oxygen bottles to allow pilots to breathe. “We made naps of 20 minutes. Exercises in the cockpit, half an hour, morning and afternoon, if after several days you can not move my arms and legs, “explained Mr Piccard.
No comments:
Post a Comment