Black technology: a super empire spanning two worlds

Chapter 401 [No Word Less Than a Shocking Remark]

Xiao Yu read out the numbers with an air of nonchalance, but Zhao Heyang, standing next to him, was completely taken aback and stunned.

Zhao Heyang was stunned. Good heavens, so in Xiao Yu's eyes, a 200 million-ton class vessel could only be considered a medium-tonnage vessel?

After realizing what he meant, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Your criteria for classification is truly astonishing. I wouldn't even dare to think that way if you dared to say it. You really are a master of making outrageous statements."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu smiled and said, "A base certainly can't be small."

To be honest, Xiao Yu felt that even a 1000 million ton-class vessel was just average, since he had already seen the real grand spectacle on Earth.

Little did they know that the Heavenly Capital of the Blue Star world, "Tian Du City," such a huge metropolis was built on "Tian Shan," which was suspended directly in the air at an altitude of several thousand meters.

The main structure of the entire Tianshan Mountains is man-made, but it is composed of a large number of naturally formed superconducting suspended mountain bodies.

In comparison, Xiao Yu's criteria for classifying super-large vessels as having a tonnage of 1000 million tons or more didn't seem that outrageous to him.

It's worth mentioning, however, that Xiao Yu's tonnage classification standard wasn't something he decided on a whim. Rather, it was a conclusion drawn by his AI, Xiao Lan, based on the current limits of human productivity in Earth's civilization, from his private underground base.

In other words, at the level of Earth's technological productivity by the middle of this century, the maximum number of integrated air bases that can be built is 1000 million tons.

This tonnage level is basically at the limit of productivity, and the data is derived by combining the industrial capacity and overall planning and scheduling capabilities of this major Eastern power.

If it were another country with the industrial capacity, they wouldn't be able to handle even a 1000 million ton level, let alone a 200 million ton level.

At most, we can only handle tankers with a displacement of 600,000 tons, because modern giant oil tankers can reach a displacement of 300,000 to 400,000 tons.

Finally, Zhao Heyang said with an amazed tone, "To move such a large air base, how much thrust and how powerful the engines must be..."

The implication was that it was unrealistic. Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu calmly smiled and said, "It won't require much thrust. For a medium-sized air base with a capacity of 2 million tons, the required thrust would only be around 700 to 800 tons, which is equivalent to the total thrust of 3 Y-50 transport aircraft. Moreover, the speed can reach 74 kilometers per hour, which is equivalent to a speed of 40 knots."

Zhao Heyang stared at Xiao Yu, his expression once again one of utter shock: "What? Seven or eight hundred tons of thrust can propel a 200 million-ton behemoth faster than an aircraft carrier? This... how is this possible?"

Xiao Yu remained calm and then simply explained: "The numerical comparison between the two is indeed quite counterintuitive, but it is based on rigorous physical calculations. Because the air base uses room temperature superconductivity to achieve levitation and balance with gravity, there is no need for engines to provide lift for the base."

At this point, Xiao Yu looked at Zhao Heyang, who was in shock, and added, "In other words, the thrust problem only needs to overcome air resistance, which can be solved with a simple air resistance formula."

Xiao Yu paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "After all, it's not an aircraft carrier. Compared to an aircraft carrier sailing in water, the density of air is much less than the density of water. The density difference between the two is 800 to 1000 times."

"Therefore, at the same speed, air resistance is much less than water resistance. In water, aircraft carriers not only need to overcome enormous water resistance, but also wave-making resistance, viscous drag, and so on. These factors make the power and thrust required to propel an aircraft carrier in water much greater."

Hearing this, Zhao Heyang nodded in understanding. Xiao Yu added, "This is still the result of taking into account many complex factors such as the windward area of ​​the air base and the irregular shape of the upper structure. If the entire structure were designed as a cone shape to further reduce wind resistance, the required thrust could be reduced by about 60% to 70%." "However, that would be unnecessary. Increasing thrust by several hundred tons would allow the air base to release an irregular upper structure, which would be more beneficial and give the base more diverse capabilities. It would be more cost-effective to limit the shape of the base to reduce thrust."

Obviously, the aerial base does not need much thrust. The fundamental reason is that its huge size and weight do not require lift, because room temperature superconducting levitation has already balanced gravity.

The airborne state experiences fewer resistance factors than a ship sailing at sea. There is no need to consider factors such as wave-making resistance, viscous resistance, and water resistance. The biggest resistance of an airborne base is the wind resistance generated by the massive structure moving forward.

Furthermore, air bases don't need to fly at supersonic speeds like fighter jets, and such a large vehicle can't maneuver at supersonic speeds.

Therefore, all things considered, seven hundred tons of thrust is more than enough.

Moreover, a speed of 74 kilometers per hour is approximately 40 knots, which is not slow at all; in fact, it can be said to be very fast. This speed is faster than most ships, and most aircraft carriers have a speed of around 30 knots, or 55 kilometers per hour.

With a cruising speed of 74 kilometers per hour, the air base is outpaced by many warships.

These behemoths don't consider how to quickly maneuver and escape after being attacked by the enemy, because their very existence is an offensive product, not a defensive one. They are a manifestation of confidence in their strength, confident that the enemy simply cannot get close to them and dares not attack them.

Therefore, a very fast speed of movement is not necessary; the key is whether or not the vessel can move at all.

As long as it can maneuver, the purpose is achieved. Even a speed of 5 knots, or about 10 kilometers per hour, is more than enough, let alone the design which is designed to reach a speed of 40 knots, or about 74 kilometers per hour.

Xiao Yu designed the speed of 74 kilometers per hour not so that the base could run faster when it was in danger, nor was it for defense. On the contrary, it was for offense, to make this kind of air base more efficient in deployment.

A cargo ship traveling at an average speed of 20 to 25 knots, departing from the eastern coast of China and bound for the Gulf of Perth in the Middle East, covers a distance of approximately 1 kilometers and takes about 11 days to reach its destination.

The aerial base designed by Xiao Yu can reach a speed of 74 kilometers per hour, or 40 knots. It can reach the same destination from the eastern coast of China in just 115 hours, or about 4.79 days.

Not only is it faster, but the actual flight distance is also shorter. Naval routes involve many detours, but air bases operate in the air. For the same departure point and destination, the distance traveled by taking a straight route in the air is only about 6500 to 7000 kilometers.

If the speed is maintained at 74 kilometers per hour throughout the entire journey, the fastest time would be about 3 days and 22 hours.

However, it actually takes 4.79 days because acceleration and deceleration during the flight take time. The acceleration and deceleration of the air base are very, very slow, with an average acceleration of only 0.000571 m/s² or 7.4 km/h².

This acceleration is incredibly slow; the speed increase caused by acceleration is extremely slow, which is counterintuitive. A healthy young adult can walk at a speed of 1.39 meters per second. From a purely visual perspective, a person's walking speed is much, much faster.

……

(End of this chapter)