Planet Doughnut

What if the world was shaped like a doughnut? Imagine for a moment that the inside of the world is hollow and the “donut hole” of the Earth floated away long ago. The center might also become the moon. On the outside of Donut Earth, things would be pretty similar to the way they are now, with land, water, air, and mountains. But the landmasses would be different, with their own unique history. All the world’s rivers would flow to the outer edge, while humans on the inner edge could look up in the sky and see the distant surface of the other side of the Earth. Also, there would be distinct differences in the strength of gravity. Imagine going to the inner edge, where the center of the donut used to be, and relaxing in a low gravity zone. Here, one could jump ten feet up in the air with ease. Even better, space travel would be easy through the center of the Donut Earth, where one would be essentially weightless, with the Earth revolving around.

This donut of a world would also have plenty of land and water, much more than the current Earth, which means there would be more of the Earth to enjoy. This means that there would be plenty of space to vacation. The Earth would also have plenty of coastline and ocean. In fact, the landmasses might line up in the center of the Earth.

One major difference, however, is that night and day would be completely different. The Sun’s light would shine only on the outside edge of Donut Earth, or Donut Earth would need to revolve on more than one axis. Either way, days would be different than they are now. There would probably still be an Arctic region in the center of the donut. From this, there would be different weather patterns, such as no El Nino. All in all, weather would be a strange phenomenon, such that tidal waves might wash over the entire circumference of the Earth. In addition, world trade and the entire human experience would be radically different. In fact, humans probably would not exist on Donut Earth, but instead another intelligent species would exist. But if humans did exist, then perhaps we would spend our days on the sunny side of the outer edge of Donut Earth, or exist entirely on the outer edge, where the sun would shine much like it does now.

World trade would also be different in that rockets could travel easily along the missing inside of Donut Earth. Maybe we would have more advanced space travel than we do now. Even better, the inside could have almost no gravity, so that people could jump many miles to the other side. All in all, Donut Earth would be a strange place.

Red Peak

Clambering awkwardly off of the bus that cool Monday morning, I thought I knew everything about backpacking. Upon falling asleep on Wednesday evening of that week, however, I realized that I knew very little about backpacking. The first two days had been easy, hiking through forests and over creeks in Northern California. Georgia and the Appalachian Trail offered much the same difficulty as this trail did. So far, in fact, the California trail on which I hiked differed only in the scenery, with enormous trees, bears, and no mosquitoes. But Wednesday proved to be different. That was the day we hiked to the top of Red Peak.

I awoke dazed on Wednesday, unsure of exactly where I was. A cool wind blew outside the tent. “Tent?” I think to myself, and then I remember that I am camped on the side of a lake high in the mountains of Yosemite National Park. The wind continues to blow as I throw my shoes on and unzip the tent flap. Outside the air blows coolly through the trees. My brain begins to function almost immediately, as the cold forces adrenaline through my blood. I look out across the crystal clear lake across to the other side, where pines and hardwoods grow. This is not the direction that I am going; instead, I will be hiking up Red Peak, along with the rest of my fifteen person group. I look up and to my left, where a sharp spire of rock, Red Peak, climbs to the clouds 2500 feet above the surface of the lake. I look back at my tent, which, along with the rest of my gear, constitutes the 50 pound load that I must haul four miles up to Red Peak Pass, which isn’t much of a pass, since it is only 50 feet below the tip of Red Peak. I took the second step of many that day.

The rest of the group and I eat a quick breakfast of rather bland food, and then hit the trail. The first half-mile or so passes behind us, a slow, easy climb through meadows and light forests. Beautiful though the meadows are, there are places I must go, so I walk quickly while the hiking is easy. We pass over a creek and stop to take a break. The trees above me shield Red Peak from my view, but I know what lies ahead of me. After a quick snack, we continue walking, and in a short while come to an opening in the trees. The trail changes abruptly to gravel and rock, and trees and grass no longer surround us. We are at the tree-line, the height above which no trees grow. Ahead of us, the trail rises steeply, winding around boulders and overhanging rocks. Above everything but the sky lies the blood-red sandstone of Red Peak, the titan that our little group must climb before we can eat lunch.

With food and mountains on my mind, I begin up the now-granite trail, leaving some space in front of me for Thomas, the leader of our group. Everyone else follows behind, apprehensive of the coming climb. The trail narrows in between boulders and broadens to include whole slabs of granite, where wispy grasses grow and lizards scurry. These slabs of granite rise at odd angles to the trail. The trail continues to climb faster than any trail I have ever been on before, straight to the top of Red Peak. Now we enter a section of the trail where the boulders are replaced by gravel on the granite slabs. A creek runs across the trail in several places, flowing like air over the rocks. From my perspective, the path to Red Peak curves upwards like a bowl, and we are at the very bottom of that bowl. A mattress of snow rests on the side of the mountain, even though it is the middle of August. Towards the top of the bowl, I can see the trail zigzagging dozens of times in ever shorter zigs towards the pass, only fifty feet from the very top of Red Peak. I feel the weight of the pack on my back and know that this will be a strenuous climb. But I must travel on, so I do. Thomas lets me go ahead of the rest of the group; though I am not sure I will even make it to the top, let alone make it there before the older members of the group.

The trail slope quickly rises in the cool morning air. I begin on the switchbacks that lead to the pass, more than 600 feet above my head. Each switchback runs parallel to the top of the mountain, so that a steep hill can be climbed in a longer but shallower section of trail. However, even the switchbacks are steep, a testament to the sheer height and slope of Red Peak Pass. I spur my legs on, hoping to reach the top quickly without stopping, but the trail proves too hard, and I must stop about half-way up the trail. From this vantage point, I can look back down into the valley and see Lake Merced, the lake that I had camped on the side of earlier that morning. The wind whips through my hair as I take a swig from my water bottle and readjust my pack. Although I have hiked most of the way up to Red Peak Pass at this point, I know that the last leg of the journey will be the hardest, as this section of trail rises ever steeper towards the pass.

I begin climbing the trail again. Under my feet, the trail consists of red gravel and rocks. At many places here, the trail is less than a foot wide, and more than once I slip down the rocks. The trail winds upwards as each of the switchbacks grows shorter. However, even though I am more than halfway up, the trail becomes harder and harder to climb, and the pass seems as far away as it was when I started out earlier that morning. I trundle on, however, despite the weight of my pack and the fact that everyone else in my group are far behind me. Above the trail and to the right, Red Peak raises upwards, a horn of red boulders. After a half hour of travel, I arrive at the pass, out of breath and legs quavering. Finally, I have completed the journey that I sat out on earlier that morning. At the pass, I look around me and discover why I went on this backpacking trip in the first place. The view is an astounding panorama of wilderness at its best: deep green valleys, mountains with red and black rocks capped with snow, and brilliant blue lakes spread out beneath me.

Mount Tuka Taka

A cloud washes over Mt. Tuka-Taka like an ocean wave, engulfing the mountain in white. The cloud rolls up the slope of Mt. Tuka-Taka in a desperate attempt to reach the top before it flows to the other side. Like a sandcastle at a beach, the mountain is caught in the unrelenting clouds, yet the mountain continues to stand as the clouds strike the mountain. Snow covers the mountain in white, flowing off the top in great stripes. It is as if the mountain became a volcano, erupting snow and clouds down its sides. And it is on one of these sides (the less cloudy side) that we find a lone farmer walking with his goats.

The farmer also sees the snow on the mountain and is aware of the battle between sky and mountain occurring above his head. The farmer continues walking through the snow already on the mountain with his goats as they ascend to the cave where he stores his cheese and wine. While walking, the farmer contemplates on the snack he will have when he reaches the cave that his grandfather once owned and which he now owns with his brother. He is not concerned with the clouds gathering. “I will try the goat cheese with cranberries first,” the farmer thinks to himself. After all, that is why he is herding eight goats to the cave. Above him the sky turns white: a monstrous cloud has rushed over the edge of the mountain and now hangs in the air, rolling slowly upwards. To the distant observer, this is another beautiful cloud formation, a battle in the war between mountain and cloud. But the farmer knows differently: this is the beginning of a blizzard.

The farmer knew that the clouds would bring a blizzard. He didn’t, however, know that the blizzard would come so soon. He realizes belatedly that he must make it to the cave before the snow hits, for that would mean certain death. The farmer also knows that the cave is more than a kilometer away, across the other side of the mountain. He gathers his goats and heads off trail, hoping to make it to his cave. The farmer hurriedly herds his goats towards the cave, hoping that the blizzard will not overtake him. The goats lazily follow him, and the farmer knows it is hopeless to go their speed, for the blizzard will hit too soon. First snow, and then sleet, begins to fall on the mountain and farmer. The snow piles up in his path, and sharp ice cuts his exposed skin and face. The farmer continues on, knowing that he will perish if he does not make it to his cave.

Suddenly, two of the goats fall off the trail and plummet down the side of the mountain. The remaining goats bleat in anguish as the farmer attempts to calm them and get them moving again. However, the farmers’ attempts prove hopeless as one of the goats runs into and over him and down the trail. The goat disappears around a ridge in the trail, though the farmer continues to hear its wild hoof-beats. The disconcerted farmer quickly gathers his goats and heads up the trail. He passes over a ridge and spies his family’s cave on up the mountain. The farmer knows he is near.

The blizzard rears its head above the mountain and farmer. Snow falls heavily over the farmer as he runs up the trail towards his cave, goats in tow. A low rumble begins at the top of the mountain. The farmer looks up towards his cave, now only fifty meters above him and to the right. As he looks at the cave, he notices that the top of the mountain is moving, and quickly. Instinctively, the farmer bolts up the side of the mountain, leaving his goats confused on the trail. He rushes towards the mouth of his cave as ice and rocks pelt the mountain side. Whoosh! An enormous rock shoots past him, hitting two of his goats further down the trail. With adrenaline pumping, the farmer dives into his cave, rolling on the floor towards safety as another boulder careens off the ledge outside.

As the farmer retreats to his stores of wine, he can only hear the sound of the mountain's fight with the blizzard. Snow falls heavily while the farmer retreats to the back of the cave to build a fire and enjoy vittles stored in the cave. The farmer is not worried about the blizzard outside, as he knows that in this battle, the mountain will emerge victorious over the clouds.

Original Post

Quad Copter

Airplanes and helicopters have always interested me. At many times, I have had more pressing or fascinating interests, but currently one of my passions is radio control helicopters. While RC airplanes have long held a special place in the lives of retired airline pilots, the field of RC airplanes and helicopters has recently garnered much attention from a younger, livelier crowd. RC helicopters can be flown much like in a video game, adding to the appeal for younger men and women. Also, a great deal of time and skill must be put into flying a helicopter, especially in learning to perform various acrobatics and stunts. Along the same lines, I have recently been researching various new designs for a helicopter and have come up with an excellent new design which I hope to sell. This design has a number of key features such as rotatable thrust vectoring, electric duct fans, vertical take-off and landing, and computer control.

One of the key words in modern airplane design is thrust vectoring. While this may sound high tech and expensive, the basics are straightforward. Thrust vectoring means that an engine produces thrust, or power, in a certain direction, and that this thrust can be to a different direction. An ordinary plane has engines that are fixed on the wing, and blow air in only one direction. However, the design that I will make has movable engines. This means that the thrust can be moved from a vertical to a horizontal direction, and any desired direction in between. This allows the aircraft to take off vertically and move through the air quickly. This design could potentially revolutionize the world of RC helicopters and airplanes, not to mention military unmanned aerial vehicles.

There are numerous ways to achieve thrust vectoring, such as using vanes, or flat pieces of material, that change the direction that air flows out of the engine, and by moving the engine itself to point in a different direction. My design will use a combination of both moving the engines and changing the fan speed of the different engines, thus changing their respective thrusts. The engines will move between horizontal and vertical, allowing smooth transitions between vertical takeoff and conventional forward flight. There will be four fans, one at each corner of the aircraft, and the fans speeds of each one will be manipulated to keep the aircraft level when taking off vertically. This is another form of thrust vectoring, though not quite in the true sense of the term.

While most helicopters use a main rotor with blades to create lift, my design will use electric duct fans. Duct fans use a more efficient fan blade and a duct around that blade in order to create a large amount of thrust while only using a small amount of power. This makes them more efficient than traditional helicopter blades. The design that I intend to build utilizes four of these duct fans arranged in a rectangular or trapezoidal fashion. This will give the aerial vehicle the ability to take off vertically from the ground, much like a conventional helicopter. However, unlike traditional helicopters, this design will also have the ability to point the duct fans forward so that all of their thrust moves the plane forwards instead of upwards. This essentially makes them like conventional jet engines in this configuration, and in this direction the duct fans could easily travel much faster than a helicopter ever could in forward flight. In addition, since the engines must generate more thrust in vertical takeoff than in conventional flight, the engines will have plenty of extra power to propel the plane forward at very high speeds. To make this device feasible, an automatic system will take the vehicle off of the ground for the user, and then allow the user to fly it like a regular airplane. The advantage of this system is that the user could take virtually any size of aerial vehicle of this kind off from nearly any place (including backyards, small parks, and living rooms), and then fly it around like a regular RC airplane.

Much like a regular helicopter, my aircraft will take off vertically from the ground. This is accomplished by the duct fans that can point down. These duct fans will need to exert more force than the weight of the aircraft (including engines) during take-off, which is fairly easy with duct fans. Electric duct fans are also very compact when compared to helicopter rotors, which rotate slowly but cover a wide surface area. In contrast, electric duct fans rotate the fan blades, or impeller, many more times in a minute, but the impeller has less surface area than helicopter blades. Although both are about the same efficiency, the duct fans are easier to accelerate and much more compact, which makes them the better option for my aircraft.

The last major component of the aircraft design is the computer-controlled vertical takeoff and landing. In order to protect the equipment and aircraft, the aircraft will feature a micro-controller and sensors to autonomously take it off of the ground. In this state, the user will only have control over the total thrust of the aircraft. Otherwise, the computer will keep the aircraft level and pointing in the right direction. An advantage of this is minimized human error, especially since the aircraft will be flown by remote control pilots who have minimal experience with this specific type of aircraft. Vertical takeoff would be somewhat similar to taking a RC helicopter off of the ground, but with its own quirks and tricks, thus, a computer-controlled system is more advantageous to a human-controlled takeoff. One disadvantage of using a computer controlled takeoff is that the micro-controller, sensors, and other electronics will add weight to the plane, decreasing the time it can stay in the air.

There are, of course, many advantages to an aerial vehicle that can take off vertically and then fly as efficiently as a conventional airplane. This design has great appeal from a military perspective, as the design could hover anywhere for extended time periods, and then fly efficiently to a new location, unlike either an airplane or helicopter can do. Regardless of its possible military applications, this design would certainly be a welcome addition to the family of remote controlled airplanes and helicopters.

Original Post

Photo Essay

QuadCopter Design

Airplanes and helicopters have always interested me. At many times, I have had more pressing or fascinating interests, but currently one of my passions is radio control helicopters. While RC airplanes have long held a special place in the lives of retired airline pilots, the field of RC helicopters had recently garnered much attention from a younger, livelier crowd. RC helicopters can be flown much like in a video game, adding to the appeal for younger men and women. Also, a great deal of time and skill must be put into flying a helicopter through various acrobatics and stunts. Along the same lines, I have recently been researching various new designs for a helicopter and have come up with an excellent new design.
This design could potentially revolutionize the world of RC helicopters, along with military unmanned aerial vehicles. The design uses, instead of a conventional main rotor and tail rotor, four duct fans. Duct fans use a more efficient fan blade and a duct around that blade in order to create a large amount of thrust while only using a small amount of power. This means that the ducted fan could be used in place of a conventional helicopter main rotor. The design that I intend to build utilizes four of these duct fans arranged in a rectangular fashion. This will give the aerial vehicle that I am designing the ability to take off vertically from the ground, much like a conventional helicopter. However, unlike traditional helicopter, this design will also have the ability to move the duct fans forward so that all of their thrust moves the plane forwards instead of upwards. This essentially makes them like conventional jet engines, and in this direction the duct fans could potentially travel much faster than a helicopter ever could. To make this device feasible, an automatic system will take the vehicle off of the ground for the user, and then allow the user to fly it like a regular airplane. The advantage of this system is that the user could take virtually any size quad copter off from nearly any place (including backyards, small parks, and living rooms), and then fly it around like a regular RC airplane.
There are, of course, many advantages to an aerial vehicle that can take off vertically and then fly as efficiently as a conventional airplane. This design appeals greatly to a military perspective, as the design could hover anywhere for extended time periods, then fly efficiently to a new location, unlike either an airplane or helicopter.

Aerial Robotics Team

I recently joined the Unmanned Aerial Robotics team at SPSU at the request of a friend, and have enjoyed it ever since. The goal of the team is to create an aerial vehicle, such as a helicopter or airplane, which can complete a certain mission. The mission that our robot must complete involves navigating its way through a building and then finding a USB drive or other small object. The goal is to more or less make a small reconnaissance robot capable of completing its mission, which could be quite different depending on a number of factors, autonomously. In order to satisfy the requirements of the competition, our team is leaning towards a quad copter.
Although at first a quad copter may sound overly complicated, there are actually several reasons why quad copters win out over conventional helicopter designs. Firstly, a quad copter is loosely a helicopter with four sets of rotors, instead of one like in the most popular helicopter designs or two in a Chinook. A rotor is like a large propeller, but acts somewhat differently and is both longer and moves slower through the air. Quad copters use the nuisances of rotors to their advantage in numerous ways. The advantage of four rotors over one or two rotors is that certain tendencies of a single-rotor design disappear. In a single rotor helicopter, the main rotor spins in one direction, propelled by a force from inside the helicopter and the rotor must exert an equal and opposite force. This causes the helicopter to spin in circles along with the rotor, which is why a small propeller is added to the tail of conventional helicopters. The four rotors can be configured such that two rotate in one direction and the other two rotate in the other direction, which cancels out this force. Also, controlling a single rotor helicopter typically requires complicated machinery which changes the pitch of the rotor blades. This allows the helicopter to move forward, backwards, and sideways through the air, but is complex and costly. A quad copter can instead control its direction by speeding up or slowing down one of the rotors on a given side, which causes the quad copter move through the air in a given direction. This requires much less complicated machinery, which keeps costs down and makes the quad copter safer than conventional helicopters. One disadvantage lies in the fact that a conventional helicopter can auto rotate, essentially a controlled crash landing, whereas a quad copter would be unable to without the complex machinery of a conventional helicopter.