Technology for a sci-fi airship

Sometimes old, discredited or impractical ideas come back to favor, because a new technology has evolved.

Let us imagine a future Earth-like world (not early 20th century or steampunk) that would consider airships again on large scale, but with a physical principle different than air buoyancy (so no hydrogen, helium or any gas, vacuum balloons, etc.). In the extreme, it could also work on planets with a lighter atmosphere than Earth.

Yet it would achieve a similar "buoyancy" effect (spontaneously staying at a certain equilibrium altitude, floating, bobbing, levitation...), at a low cost. That implies some stable uplifting factor that compensates gravity. It might also not need as big an external envelope as traditional airships, compared to the size of the gondola.

It would presumably be a technology that our current society does not have. What physical principle would it be based on? What kind of technology would it use? What would be the process of building it? How would it use energy for its motion?

As in hard science fiction, some level of scientific extrapolation is allowed (some suspension of disbelief), but it should remain overall credible. It should be articulate enough, that readers could solidly think with the components parts of the technology and how their interact with each other.

In which direction would you go?

posted about 7 years ago

fralau‭

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