----- Original Message ----- From: "Philip Tellis" philip.tellis@gmx.net
-- The first rule of all intelligent tinkering is to keep all the parts. -- Aldo Leopold, quoted in Donald Wurster's "Nature's Economy"
Rest assured Philip, I am not the one who is going to tinker around with atoms and molecules. But don't be afraid to dream and let your imagination loose, atleast for some time. Yesterday's dreams are today's technology. Who knows how the future turns out to be. I once observed on tv, a high speed water skier riding the waves at over 100 miles per hour. When he would release himself from the rope and fell on the water, he did not sink into the water but rolled over it for some time till his speed came down. This was because the viscocity of water and the high speed make the water surface very hard. Thats why power boats consume a lot of power to overcome the drag at high speeds. I thought, instead of using the drag and hardness of water as a disadvantage, why not use it as an advantage and roll over it like a wheel rolls over the road. The higher the speed, the better the roll. I don't know how practical this concept is but if it works, it would herald a new era in high speed water transport, using a slightly advanced automobile with specially designed wheels. This would bring down travel costs as it would be a little more expensive than a luxury bus. Have you imagined going from Mumbai to Dubai over the sea, in a bus, in a few hours? That's yesterday's dream.
Rony.