Oh yeah.
the idea of traveling through space in such a device is somewhat absurd, or
at the best highly impratical. I'm assuming you mean outer space, as in
traviling to other planets,. their simply aren't enough other particles out
there to create a bouyant force against. there are too many other forces
that would completely take over.. I have a hard time imagining these things
being anything other then large Balloon like aircraft/dirigibles. it's not
because i have a lack of imagination, it's because i've studied the problem.


-- 
**********
shu

"shu" <washu@hiwaay.net> wrote in message
news:10aqm92ird8sb4d@corp.supernews.com...

this is actually a very very old idea.
7 years ago I did calculations that deterimined the thickness and weight

of

various materials required to hold vacuums, and partial vacuums, at

various

(large) diameters)

the problem is simply the materials are too heavy and not strong enough to
even come close to working.
perhaps when new, lighter, stronger materials are discovered that this

idea

may become practical.

-- 
**********
shu

"startum" <startum@mail.anonymizer.com> wrote in message
news:1e9rc.98062$vn.266236@sea-read.news.verio.net...

"Neil" <paradoxer@lykose.com> wrote in message
news:10a2u0m3624pk93@corp.supernews.com...

"Gremlin" <Gr3mlin@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3c7ddd63.0405022134.1d5aa607@posting.google.com...

A gravity powered aircraft is being developed by former govornment

and

millitary scientists.  It works in similar to a helium balloon,

except

it is also able to contain large spaces of vacuum which is much
lighter than helium.  The ultralight aircraft becomes lighter than

air

and rises high enough that it can then release some of its stored
vacuum and begin gliding back down to earth like a conventional
ultralight.  Once this technology is developed, which may not happen
in our life time, I am sure it will become more advanced and
vacuum-engineering will be able to take us to space.  You can move
through space in theory the same way because there are a small

number

of particles still in the void, you just need to create better

quality

vacuums.  This technology works similar to a submarine which changes

...

No, it isn't practical to use vacuum for lift, because of the need to

offset the

surrounding air pressure. The whole point of helium etc. is that it is

very

light (over 80% of the weight loss that would come from a total

vacuum),

but it

does exert the compensating pressure from within that can allow the

enclosing

walls to be very thin. That's the only way for the lift to be enough

to

work -

not much weight.

   Gary Shannon, 5/12 had a VERY interesting idea about a vacuum powered
sphere in the post "Nothing in Sphere but Sphere itself," posted by Carl

G.,

5/2/04, at Rec. Puzzles.