How many AA batteries would it take to power an A380?

[Fubsy]

One AA battery could knock a plane out of the sky.

 

[Angilion]

African or European AA batteries?

I don't know...aaarrrrrgggghhhh!

 

[Angilion]

The nuclear reactor in a submarine weighs less than an A380’s fuel load…

Nuclear powered planes were seriously considered, back in the days when nuclear fission was seen as the solution to pretty much everything. It could probably be done (I vaguely recall that a prototype flew, but I'm not sure about that), but it's a fundamentally bad idea.

Then there's the psycho horror of Project Pluto, which would have used an unshielded nuclear reactor as a flying weapon of mass destruction. Fly low, contaminate everywhere en route, then drop some nuclear bombs for the finale. Scrapped for being too horrible, thankfully.

 

[gord]

If you had a long enough extension lead would the aircraft fly faster than the electricity traveling through the cable

Like someone else noted, no, but with numbers. The propagation of the electromagnetic wave would be roughly 90% of the speed of light. 90% of the speed of light is about 972,000,000kph. A380 cruise speed is 1,000kph.

 

[mrgubby]

Would it still need batteries if it was powered by induction from a conductive conveyor belt ?

 

[FBi7]

Yeah a jet engine requires combustible fuel, you can't power the turbofan engines electrically.

Electricity can only work for short distance propeller aircraft. There is no way to replace jet engines with electrically powered engines, propeller aircraft are slow by comparison and batteries have very low energy density compared to jet fuel.

The majority of thrust from a modern jet engine comes from outside the combustion chamber, so if you could electrically turn the compressor blades fast enough, you could theoretically generate some form of thrust. I think.

AA batteries migrate?

How else are they going to collect their coconuts?

 

[I cant post photos]

Nuclear powered planes were seriously considered

Interesting vid:

 

[Quartz]

Nuclear powered planes were seriously considered, back in the days when nuclear fission was seen as the solution to pretty much everything. It could probably be done (I vaguely recall that a prototype flew, but I'm not sure about that), but it's a fundamentally bad idea.

It's going to happen. Perhaps by the end of the century. Fossil fuel isn't going to last forever and soon enough only the military is going to be able to afford it. And there's not going to be much difference between an A380 with avgas falling on you and an A380 with a reactor falling on you. I expect they will try dropping a reactor vessel from 10000m to test. Indeed, I expect tests to be stringent.

 

[SexyGreyFox]

African or European AA batteries?

Top post

 

[alchal]

Perhaps A380's should use fly-by-wire technology like the C17

https://twitter.com/x/status/1421039438809944064

LoL
Was that an April fools Day joke?

 

[theone8181]

Pretty sure it would take 8 D Cells and a little watch battery to stop the clock resetting when you change them over.

They're like the tardis of the battery world, one of the kids toys had 3 Cs in it and they were still good after several years use.

 

[arknor]

For a four hour flight, let's say. How many could power a large plane like this? Would you need a separate plane carrying the batteries to power the other plane? Could you connect the planes in series like a sort of flying centipede? If you connected them in a ring using rechargeable batteries could they fly infinitely?

don't planes have a small engine in the tail that generates electricity

 

[McBain]

What's going on in you head to come up with that question?

The answer is 4AA Energizer.

 

[Feek]

don't planes have a small engine in the tail that generates electricity

Yes, it's called an APU.

The BAE-146 has five of them. One in the tail and two under each wing