Inside Project Loon – Google's megaplan to build a global internet Google's I/O developer conference isn't just about code – the Chocolate Factory has many schemes and attendees have been drawn to a large balloon hovering in a corner of the conference venue. The balloon is an example of Project Loon, Google's plan to loft thousands of balloons equipped with LTE antennae that will bring …
@gnufrontier
Keeping in mind what happened with the Wi-Fi snooping that happened with Street View, what are the chances of hi-resolution down pointing cameras being "unintentionally installed and activated" in these units. It gives them their own Earth observation platform to supplement data provided by satellite imagery providers
The gas has been shifted from ground level to several miles up. Once the balloon pops, it's not going to be easy to grab it for reuse.
It's pretty hard to come by on earth. It was first detected in the sun, hence its name.
The US used to have a strategic reserve of a few years' supply, but everyone seems to be coming up with fresh uses these days, filling hard drives for example.
Yes, you can make more, but the most anyone has made in one go is a few ounces, and the neighbours complained about the noise, amongst other things.
Hydrogen is a LOT easier to get hold of, and relatively safe now more people have given up smoking.
@David Roberts
Most of the helium that we use comes from natural gas wells, where much of it was formed as alpha particles from radioactive decay within the Earth. Helium is a very light molecule (roughly 7 times less dense than air) and smaller than the main nitrogen and oxygen components of air. Each helium molecule has an average velocity greater than most of the other molecules in the atmosphere.
Molecules can travel to the top of the atmosphere relatively quickly, and if they are light enough, will escape from the Earth's gravity. (It is a lot more complicated than that!). A helpful(?) link for some of the theory: Wikipedia.
Helium atoms travel faster than escape velocity, so giving them a free lift to 60,000 feet is only helping that. Also, the concentration in the atmosphere is so incredibly tiny that it's impossible to extract it commercially. There are just three or four wells in world where helium exists in quantities suitable for extraction.
Helium scarcity is one of the unsung scare stories of our time.
It's not impossible to extract helium from the air, just very inefficient.
Exeter Uni (for example) have their own gas liquefying plant out the back of the physics department, in order to produce the liquid helium and nitrogen for their MRI machines. Of course, this produces much, much more liquid nitrogen than anything else, so there was always a ready supply for student high-jinks :)
Maintaining station by surfing ? I haven't got a clue how that would work to overcome prevailing jet streams.
I wonder how they are planning to overcome the fact that 70% of the planet is ocean, which assuming an even distribution* of loons means 2/3rds of them will be out of sight of potentail customers. Or are they palnning some huge mesh style network.
* (Yeah I know the %age ocean coverage in the northern hemisphere is much lower. but it's still got to be about 50%)
and they should re-release the song:
..
I'd like to teach the world to ping
In perfect harmony
I'd like to let them browse the net
and use this company
..
I'd like to see the world for once
All searching through one site
And use their browsing history
to place ads in their sight.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
