Distinguished scientists elected as Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society09 May 2018Fifty eminent scientists have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society and ten as new Foreign Members for their exceptional contributions to science.[...]The full list of the newly-elected Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society are, in alphabetical order:Fellows of the Royal Society Jim Al-Khalili OBE FRS, Professor of Physics and Professor of Public Engagement in Science, Department of Physics, University of Surrey[...] Elon Musk FRS, Engineer, inventor and entrepreneur
Elon Musk is an internationally renowned engineer, inventor, entrepreneur and is an inspiration to scientists, innovators and thinkers worldwide. He has galvanized true ambition and a spirit of adventure to change the world in the fields of space travel, sustainable electric transportation, solar power, low-cost internet satellites and hypersonic ground transportation. His vision extends to securing the future of humankind in colonizing Mars.
Hypersonic transport in Hyperloop is possible, but a little ambitious.
And he is the only one of the 2018 fellows who is not a Dr. or a Prof.
Quote from: hopalong on 05/09/2018 12:19 pmAnd he is the only one of the 2018 fellows who is not a Dr. or a Prof.Or engineer... But I digress and still deserving nonetheless...
Quote from: Rocket Science on 05/09/2018 04:17 pmQuote from: hopalong on 05/09/2018 12:19 pmAnd he is the only one of the 2018 fellows who is not a Dr. or a Prof.Or engineer... But I digress and still deserving nonetheless...It's not the engineering degree that makes the engineer.
Neither does an MBA make a businessman. Props to UK Royal Society for recognizing his contributions with reference to Luigi Galvani, and early 19th century. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/galvanize"to stimulate by electricity"
Although a technologist, and not a pure scientist, as father of the space revolution, his place will eventually be like Newton's <snip>
Quote from: DistantTemple on 05/09/2018 06:42 pm Although a technologist, and not a pure scientist, as father of the space revolution, his place will eventually be like Newton's <snip>Ummm... really?
Well EM has leapfrogged the engineering degree, and having to be a certified, registered, engineer... member of the IEEEEe etc... and is now a fellow of the preeminent fellowship of many of the world's most eminent scientists. Actually that makes perfect sense. He always says to take everything back to first principals; to the physics.He is one of the worlds most preeminent scientists. Now when ignorance is being championed, Elon stands as the antidote, as the figurehead of scientific renewal. Galvanised is absolutely on the money. Electrifying science and engineering, recharging our batteries, a warrior ready stand up for using technology to help humanity and the planet.In making this award, the Royal Society recognises and supports this fight, adding sparkle to his breastplate, and their seal of approval.In 8 years he will have a greater place in technical history than George Stevenson, the father of the railway! Although a technologist, and not a pure scientist, as father of the space revolution, his place will eventually be like Newton's, or Boyle's who began the Royal Society. Musk is rightly recognised, for the pivotal point in history he is creating.
Boundless enthusiasm aside, if he does manage to achieve what he’s set out to: mass market electric vehicles and solar panels, global satellite internet access, science-fiction level cheap access to space, and a Mars colony, that would put him well on the level of the greatest achievers in history. If he dropped it all right now he might be a George Stevenson, well known in the engineering world but only occasionally mentioned outside it, but if everything goes to plan I imagine future generations might remember him the way we remember Churchill or Washington (it helps that he has the kind of name that is recognisable in one word).
Quote from: D_Dom on 05/09/2018 04:44 pmNeither does an MBA make a businessman. Props to UK Royal Society for recognizing his contributions with reference to Luigi Galvani, and early 19th century. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/galvanize"to stimulate by electricity"Galvani was a great Italian scientist, MBAs are a dime a dozen...
Quote from: Rocket Science on 05/09/2018 04:51 pmQuote from: D_Dom on 05/09/2018 04:44 pmNeither does an MBA make a businessman. Props to UK Royal Society for recognizing his contributions with reference to Luigi Galvani, and early 19th century. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/galvanize"to stimulate by electricity"Galvani was a great Italian scientist, MBAs are a dime a dozen...MBAs used for making the quarterly results appear great are a dime a dozen.MBAs starting businesses that employ tens of thousands (50k-ish at the moment), disrupt established industries, and open new futures are priceless.
So like Edison without the Elephant electrocution...
If the loop is pumped down to a vacuum how possible is hypersonic ?
Quote from: D_Dom on 05/09/2018 03:58 pmIf the loop is pumped down to a vacuum how possible is hypersonic ?A true vacuum with literally no molecules is impossible. The standard hyperloop only reduces pressure by like a factor of 100, and there are definitely still aerodynamic effects, especially near Mach 1.Hypersonic speeds would need a higher vacuum.
Quote from: Robotbeat on 05/11/2018 03:17 amQuote from: D_Dom on 05/09/2018 03:58 pmIf the loop is pumped down to a vacuum how possible is hypersonic ?A true vacuum with literally no molecules is impossible. The standard hyperloop only reduces pressure by like a factor of 100, and there are definitely still aerodynamic effects, especially near Mach 1.Hypersonic speeds would need a higher vacuum.Does the nose impeller as pictured in the Hyperloop white paper reduced the aerodynamic effects enough to enable near hypersonic speed in a Hyperloop near vacuum tube?
Quote from: Zed_Noir on 05/19/2018 12:10 amQuote from: Robotbeat on 05/11/2018 03:17 amQuote from: D_Dom on 05/09/2018 03:58 pmIf the loop is pumped down to a vacuum how possible is hypersonic ?A true vacuum with literally no molecules is impossible. The standard hyperloop only reduces pressure by like a factor of 100, and there are definitely still aerodynamic effects, especially near Mach 1.Hypersonic speeds would need a higher vacuum.Does the nose impeller as pictured in the Hyperloop white paper reduced the aerodynamic effects enough to enable near hypersonic speed in a Hyperloop near vacuum tube?Hyperloop vehicles are generally shown with a big compressor at the front. But that doesn't actually make sense. The first thing to contact incoming air should be a heat exchanger which would chill the incoming air stream. This greatly reduces the amount of shaft energy that gets converted to heat energy in the compressor, which in turn reduces the size of the battery which supplies that energy and the heat dump which absorbs it.For those of you interested in supersonic or even hypersonic travel in a tube, the folks at Reaction Engines Limited have figured out how to make this heat exchanger work at those speeds. I have grave doubts about the Skylon system as a whole, but this part has seen a lot of development and works.As Elon described it, the pod would dump the compressed air out the back. This is pointless -- any thrust the vehicle achieves costs the next vehicle even more in drag. Having done the hardest part of the compression, you are better off compressing the air further and storing it, to be ejected from the system entirely after the vehicle arrives at its destination. The pods are far better at evacuating air from the tubes than vacuum pumps would be, so much so that the tubes would quickly drop well below the 100 Pa pressure that Elon envisioned. At around 10 Pa pressure the aerodynamics of the pumps change, as the mean free molecular path gets to be an interesting fraction of a turbine blade chord. I suspect compressor efficiency would drop at this point and the vehicles would stop effectively scavenging air from the tube.Actual supersonic speeds might be largely unnecessary if there is significant traffic. The pods heat the air as they pass through, and at low pressures that air becomes effectively more viscous (relative to its momentum). That means the lower pressure air is worse at transferring heat to the tube walls, and is likely to get quite warm. At higher temperatures the speed of sound increases.The real problem with supersonic and certainly with hypersonic speeds is that the turn bend radius becomes very, very large. The standard turn for a commercial aircraft is 0.5 G laterally, which is quite aggressive for a land-based vehicle. At 320 m/s, approximately Mach 1 at room temperature, the bend radius is 21 km, and it increases quadratically with speed. You might argue that you can eliminate bends in the point-to-point system that Musk described, but transportation systems are never point to point, but rather networks. Networks have switch points which require bends. Very large turn radii reduce the density of switch points which increases the travel time once you exit the Hyperloop system and get back onto surface streets. Mach 1 might be approached midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, but most travel time would be spent at perhaps half that speed. A network designed to get people from San Francisco to Los Angeles in around 30 minutes would be seriously suboptimal for the much larger number of passengers who wish to travel at high speed within those metropolises, or even for those not near the few Hyperloop terminal points possible. 50 minutes is a much more reasonable goal.
Elon Musk’s rocket rideSpaceX is soaring. Tesla is roaring. How the world’s most creative and controversial CEO is transforming one industry after another—and why he’s Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year.BY ANDREW NUSCA AND MICHAL LEV-RAMDecember 2, 2020 11:30 AM GMT
Elon Musk has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, joining 132 other new members.https://nae.edu/270224.aspx
Musk, Elon Reeve, founder, chief executive officer, and chief engineer, SpaceX, Hawthorne, Calif. For breakthroughs in the design, engineering, manufacturing, and operation of reusable launch vehicles and sustainable transportation and energy systems.
CONGRATULATIONS to our awardees!🏆 Elon Musk the winner of the IAF World Space Award, Stephanie Bednarek received it on his behalf. The IAF World Space Award for Teams was awarded to @NASA, @csa_asc @esa and handed to Pam Melroy during the Opening Ceremony!✨#IAC2023
Thank you on behalf of the people of SpaceX for whom all credit is deserved!