The Antipode: Flying from New York to London in 11 minutes 超音速飛機Antipode：11分鐘從紐約飛到倫敦


Remember the Skreemr, a concept for a supersonic plane that could travel at Mach 10?
記得Skreemr——能夠以10馬赫(Mach)的速度飛行的超音速概念機嗎？

Scratch that, there's now a design for a plane that could cruise from London to New York in 11 minutes, traveling at Mach 24 -- that's 12 times faster than the Concorde!
想像看看，現在有一種飛機能夠以24馬赫的速度11分鐘從倫敦飛到紐約——比協和飛機的速度快12倍。

Charles Bombardier, the industrial designer who came up with both designs, has dubbed this newest concept the Antipode, which he conceived in collaboration with Lunatic Koncepts founder Abhishek Roy.
In theory, it could carry up to ten passengers up to 12,430 miles in under an hour.
提出這兩個設計的工業設計師Charles Bombardie將這個全新的概念命名為Antipode，這個名字是和Lunatic Koncepts的創辦人Abhishek Roy共同構思出來的。
在理論上，它能夠載1個小時內將10名乘客載到12,430英里高空。

How it would work 該如何實行呢？
"I wanted to create an aircraft concept capable of reaching its antipode -- or diametrical opposite -- as fast as possible," Bombardier told Forbes.
Did you just daze out? Bear with us a little while longer while we explain the tech that would get this craft flying.
Bombardier在受富比士專訪時表示：「我想要創造能夠達到其飛機速度的極限——或是截然不同——總之越快越好」
你剛是不是在發呆？我們還要解釋一下能夠讓這個飛機運行的科技因此麻煩再忍耐一下喔！

The Antipode's wings would be fitted with rocket boosters that would propel the aircraft to 40,000 feet, and enable it to reach Mach 5.
Antipode的機翼安裝了能夠將飛機推動到40,000英尺高空並能夠達到5馬赫速度的火箭推進器。

Like the Skreemr, the plane would be powered by a scramjet engine.
Unlike conventional jet engines, scramjet engines have virtually no moving parts.
如同Skreemr，飛機是由超音速沖壓噴射引擎提供動力。
不像是常見的噴射引擎，超音速沖壓噴射引擎實際上並沒有任何可活動的部分。

And unlike rockets, scramjet engines would burn oxygen from the atmosphere instead of having to carry heavy tanks full of oxygen.
而且不像是火箭，超音速沖壓噴射引擎會從大氣層中燃燒氧氣而不需要載著一槽又重又滿的氧氣。

But is it feasible? 但這可行嗎？
Now, the Skreemr concept got some flack for the challenges presented using some of the same technology.
One big problem was heat.
現在Skreemr的概念因為一些使用相同科技會遭受的挑戰而受到抨擊。
其中一個大問題是過熱。

Objects traveling past Mach 5 can reach upwards of 980 C (1800 F), and there is a limit to the type of materials that can withstand those kinds of temperatures.
行駛超過5馬赫的物體其溫度將可到打攝氏980度(相當於華氏1800度)，而這一種物質能夠承受這種溫度的能力有限。

The sonic boom is also all but guaranteed when an object breaks the sound barrier, and is a menace in urban areas.
當物體突破音障時幾乎一定會發生聲爆，而這對都會區域是一個威脅。

However, Bombardier believes he may have found a solution to both issues.
After the Skreemr concept made the rounds, Bombardier was contacted by Joseph Hazeltine, an engineer at Wyle, which provides technical support to both NASA and the U.S. Department of Defence.
然而，Bombardier相信他能夠為這兩個問題找到解決辦法。
在Skreemr的概念，Wyle公司的工程師Joseph Hazeltine曾與Bombardier聯繫，Ｗyle公司目前有提供美國太空總署和美國國防部技術上的協助。

Hazeltine suggested using an aerodynamic technique called long penetration mode, or LPM, which would use a nozzle on the aircraft's nose to blow out air and cool down the surface temperature, while muffling the noise made from breaking the sound barrier.
Hazeltine建議使用一種名叫長穿透模態( long penetration mode, LPM)的空氣動力技術，這個技術能夠使用飛機機鼻上的管口將空氣吹出並讓表面的溫度冷卻，同時也能將穿越音障時的噪音降低。

Yes, it's above our heads too. Still, impressive though these techniques all sound, most of the technology in this design is still decades away from seeing the light of day.
是的，對我們來說也很難理解，但是，雖然這些技術聽起來非常了不起，這個設計中大部份的科技仍需要數十年的時間才能問世。

Even NASA hasn't created a stable scramjet yet. The Pentagon came closest, launching a small, unmanned scramjet aircraft in 2013 that hit Mach 5.
就算美國太空總署還沒創造出穩定的超音速沖壓噴射裝置，美國國防部目前開發出最接近技術，在2013年時發射了到達5馬赫的小型無人超音速沖壓噴射飛機。

Note: There's been nothing commercial, and nothing approaching anything near the speed Bombardier is suggesting with the Antipode.
As he explains in a video on his website: "It's all about innovation. Share your idea, and it opens up a door for other designers to build on it."
注意：Bombardier僅提供對於Antipode的建議，並沒有任何商業行為，實際上這個點子也沒有被實行。
就如同他在他的網站上的影片中解釋道：「這一切都是為了創新，分享你的點子，然後打開大門讓其他設計師繼續延伸。」

原始網址：http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/27/aviation/antipode-hypersonic-concept-plane/index.html




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