• Question: Would it be possible to build a working jetpack with solar panels and gas for the electricty and ignite for power to power it and I know you would probably burn your legs off but just say there was a material that was completely fire resistant would it possible?

    Asked by Lawrecium to Aislinn, Fiona, Nathan, Padraic, Sinead on 2 Feb 2015.
    • Photo: Padraic Morrissey

      Padraic Morrissey answered on 2 Feb 2015:

      I think what you are saying is definitely possible! The only trouble would be how long you could stay in the air for. You might need a lot of gas to keep burning, which can be fairly heavy. The idea of a solar panel is good though, so if that was really big (and super light) it could help a lot.

      Check this out for a water powered jet pack!

      (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im1iNq02Kz0)

    • Photo: Sinead Quirke

      Sinead Quirke answered on 2 Feb 2015:

      Yes the solar panels could provide the power and you would then need sufficient gas to act as a propellant – mind your legs !!!!

    • Photo: Nathan Quinlan

      Nathan Quinlan answered on 2 Feb 2015:

      Wow, fantastic idea! I suspect the solar panels would have to be absolutely huge to give you enough power. This is a problem with solar and wind energy – there’s lots of energy out there, but it’s spread over big areas, so you need big machines to catch it.

      But yes, you probably could power it with gas. I would think a big problem for any jetpack design would be how to keep it stable and easy to control. There have been some serious attempts at jetpacks and rocketpacks – google will find them for you.

    • Photo: Aislinn Coghlan

      Aislinn Coghlan answered on 3 Feb 2015:

      Hi Lawrecium,

      I’d say that is totally possible! Like the others said, at the moment solar panels needs to be quite big to make use of them. However, if you think of the first computer, itwere absolutely huge! And now we 100 times more processing power in something you hold in your hand. Technology evolves so rapidly that you never know, in 20 years we might have mini solar panels to power jet packs with! You wouldn’t even need the gas, you could use the energy from the panels to create a force between yourself and the earth by redirecting the airflow or overcoming gravity.

      Absolutely anything is possible!

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