Got a few minutes? Hop over some oceans

Hypersonic X-15 in Flight     (NASA photo)

It seems difficult for most of us to understand Einstein’s theory of relativity mathematically, but here’s a way to grasp it experientially:  the Antipode.

This aircraft, still very much on the drawing board, is designed to be a hypersonic jet that will transport passengers from New York to London in 11 minutes.  International Business Times explains that the Antipode would initially climb “to 40,000 feet at Mach 5” via rocket boosters.

Antipode’s wings would then “detach and fly themselves back to base” as the jet accelerates to Mach 24 (“12,427 miles an hour”).  Going instead to Shanghai or Sydney?  From New York, the first flight would take 24 minutes, and the second 32.

In order to minimize air friction and sonic boom, “an aerodynamic technique called long     penetration mode (LPM)” would be utilized.  LPM channels “air flowing over the aircraft through a gap at the front and on to the wings and nose, cooling it down and helping to muffle the noise…” 

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/future-aeroplane-design-could-see-travel-from-london-to-new-york-in-11-minutes/ar-BBoJl6g?li=BBnb7Kz 

Copyright January 27, 2016 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved