This blog is NOT about Ed Wood or his movies; its title was inspired by Ed's classic "Plan 9 from Outer Space." This blog is related (distantly) to my other blog, "Everything You Know is Wrong," which is a compendium of what I think I've learned in my internet research on the truth about the world we (think we) live in; what really happened on 9/11, in our history, to our science, to our people, and more. While it is the first of my blogs, it would not exist had I not found startling information (quite by accident) in my original search for the latest technologies in "clean" (or "alternate") sources of energy. "Plan B" implies a "Plan A;" quite so. So, what is "Plan A"? Go to my first blog (arewebozos) and click the link for the "Disclosure Project," which will introduce you to a score of respectable people (many of whom, while they were in government or the military, were the people we trusted to protect our lives) who are prepared to testify under oath to Congress about what they saw and experienced: namely, "UFOs", their pilots, and the technologies we have reverse-engineered from their craft. Our military (or, more precisely, our "secret government)" has been keeping this technology secret, denying its benefits to civilian use. We could be enjoying the benefits of "free" energy right now, for example, were it not for this secrecy, nor would we be risking lives in our space program with crude technologies like the Space Shuttle. In short, the Disclosure Project is "Plan A from Outer Space."
So what is "Plan B from Inner Space"? Nothing more than proceeding with the best available current Earth-based technologies while we are waiting for Plan A to bear fruit. Before exploring "Plan B," check out the first 3 links of my other site: Magnegas.com, Blacklightpower.com and Cheniere.org for an idea of what is possible and what may be, even as we speak, well on its way to commercialization. For my own contribution to Plan B, I offer a new approach to getting radical new products on the fast track to commercialization, and will present my collected product concepts for team development.
So, what's the "new approach," you might ask? Creating a variant of the open-source software site SourceForge, but dedicated to the creation of new engineered products instead of software packages. I envision a collection of projects where an individual or small team presents a concept for a new product, with a minimum number of basic parameters and design goals that would form the basis of a "standard platform." Contributors would then provide pieces of the design as modules that together would form the complete product. The biggest challenges will be defining structures for keeping a project on track (and perhaps providing ways to reward contributors during development and after a project is completed).
As an example of a new product concept, may I present this one: a small, efficient, lightweight, safe and fun personal transportation vehicle that might be easily assembled or modified by the owner, using the best and most appropriate materials and technologies. (All these parameters are subjective, of course, and initially I am the sole arbiter of what these parameters are.) Pictures would be worth thousands of words, of course, but they will have to wait until I get my hands on some good 3-D CAD-CAM software. In the meantime, let me define some of my terms.
"Small": just big enough for two people and a modest amount of baggage. "Efficient": uses little (or no) fuel (the "no" part depends on some of the latest technologies of which I am aware—"theirs" or ours). "Lightweight": about the weight of a hefty motorcycle—say, 700 pounds. "Safe": capable of smacking into a brick wall at over 50 MPH without doing damage to the passengers or the vehicle. (Appropriate materials and smart engineering should make this achievable.) "Fun": sports-car acceleration and braking, and motorcycle-style banking around corners.
I have been doing thought experiments and sketching diagrams of various aspects of this vehicle for over a decade, without the time or resources to build any prototypes. I'm hoping by putting these ideas in the public domain by means of this project that some prototypes will be built and the project can get underway. Another term definition: "appropriate materials" must be strong, lightweight and flexible, able to distort severely and then recover their shape without failure. The only rigid parts of the vehicle would be a cage around the passenger compartment and support for the running gear. The cage would be mounted to the body with shock absorbers, as would an exterior "bumper" consisting of a semi-rigid ring around the entire vehicle. My proposed body shell material is three polycarbonate "bubbles," one full-length "bathtub" shape and two upper (front and rear) bubbles; the rear bubble would fit slightly inside the front one and slide rearward for access. The driver and passenger would be seated one behind the other; the total width of the shell would be about the width of a small sports car, to allow room for the passenger/running gear "cage" to pivot within the shell (for motorcycle-like banking). This approach puts fewer restraints on the shell design than it would if the shell itself had to bank, and also allows more space for side-impact absorption. The wheels would be integrated electric motors (several such designs are nearing commercialization). Further-out design ideas include replacement of the wheels with twin tracks that are also linear electric motors (technology also near commercialization). Direct electric power to the wheels (or tracks) has the advantage of eliminating drive-train components and allows flexibility in placement of the power source (or sources). A guiding design principle would be modularization of components and systems for easy assembly and upgrading of components. I have many other ideas for the other components of the system, and will go into detail if anyone shows an interest in this project. Variations I've toyed with include models that can navigate over any terrain (land or water), add hovercraft and/or flight capability. Let's have some fun, shall we?
So what is "Plan B from Inner Space"? Nothing more than proceeding with the best available current Earth-based technologies while we are waiting for Plan A to bear fruit. Before exploring "Plan B," check out the first 3 links of my other site: Magnegas.com, Blacklightpower.com and Cheniere.org for an idea of what is possible and what may be, even as we speak, well on its way to commercialization. For my own contribution to Plan B, I offer a new approach to getting radical new products on the fast track to commercialization, and will present my collected product concepts for team development.
So, what's the "new approach," you might ask? Creating a variant of the open-source software site SourceForge, but dedicated to the creation of new engineered products instead of software packages. I envision a collection of projects where an individual or small team presents a concept for a new product, with a minimum number of basic parameters and design goals that would form the basis of a "standard platform." Contributors would then provide pieces of the design as modules that together would form the complete product. The biggest challenges will be defining structures for keeping a project on track (and perhaps providing ways to reward contributors during development and after a project is completed).
As an example of a new product concept, may I present this one: a small, efficient, lightweight, safe and fun personal transportation vehicle that might be easily assembled or modified by the owner, using the best and most appropriate materials and technologies. (All these parameters are subjective, of course, and initially I am the sole arbiter of what these parameters are.) Pictures would be worth thousands of words, of course, but they will have to wait until I get my hands on some good 3-D CAD-CAM software. In the meantime, let me define some of my terms.
"Small": just big enough for two people and a modest amount of baggage. "Efficient": uses little (or no) fuel (the "no" part depends on some of the latest technologies of which I am aware—"theirs" or ours). "Lightweight": about the weight of a hefty motorcycle—say, 700 pounds. "Safe": capable of smacking into a brick wall at over 50 MPH without doing damage to the passengers or the vehicle. (Appropriate materials and smart engineering should make this achievable.) "Fun": sports-car acceleration and braking, and motorcycle-style banking around corners.
I have been doing thought experiments and sketching diagrams of various aspects of this vehicle for over a decade, without the time or resources to build any prototypes. I'm hoping by putting these ideas in the public domain by means of this project that some prototypes will be built and the project can get underway. Another term definition: "appropriate materials" must be strong, lightweight and flexible, able to distort severely and then recover their shape without failure. The only rigid parts of the vehicle would be a cage around the passenger compartment and support for the running gear. The cage would be mounted to the body with shock absorbers, as would an exterior "bumper" consisting of a semi-rigid ring around the entire vehicle. My proposed body shell material is three polycarbonate "bubbles," one full-length "bathtub" shape and two upper (front and rear) bubbles; the rear bubble would fit slightly inside the front one and slide rearward for access. The driver and passenger would be seated one behind the other; the total width of the shell would be about the width of a small sports car, to allow room for the passenger/running gear "cage" to pivot within the shell (for motorcycle-like banking). This approach puts fewer restraints on the shell design than it would if the shell itself had to bank, and also allows more space for side-impact absorption. The wheels would be integrated electric motors (several such designs are nearing commercialization). Further-out design ideas include replacement of the wheels with twin tracks that are also linear electric motors (technology also near commercialization). Direct electric power to the wheels (or tracks) has the advantage of eliminating drive-train components and allows flexibility in placement of the power source (or sources). A guiding design principle would be modularization of components and systems for easy assembly and upgrading of components. I have many other ideas for the other components of the system, and will go into detail if anyone shows an interest in this project. Variations I've toyed with include models that can navigate over any terrain (land or water), add hovercraft and/or flight capability. Let's have some fun, shall we?
posted by Jay Spencer at 6:37 PM
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