Standardize The Batteries For a Greener World

Standardization of batteries is critical for a greener world. Most rechargeable batteries are not fully recyclable and there is no standardization of their dimensions and electrical parameters.  

The standardization will allow the manufacturers to design their products with no consideration for the battery. They will just allocate the necessary space and place the standardized battery management module appropriate for their products. With the non-standardized world we have poor quality batteries dominating the aftermarket. The big battery manufacturing companies cannot invest in thousands of different battery types so the market is left to sub-par manufacturers which yields more battery waste for the world.

Standardization allows new technologies to penetrate the market much faster. With non-standardized world, the manufacturers make long term agreements with battery manufacturers and lock themselves to a technology. An example: When I was a kid I powered my Walkman with Zinc battery which lasted for an hour. Later alkaline batteries were available which lasted for much longer. Later I found about rechargeable NiCd batteries and used them which let me use the same battery many times. Later NiMH batteries were available which were rechargeable and lasted much longer and I used them. All this time the Walkman stayed the same but the experience changed. 

I propose, the cars using standardized batteries to be sold without a battery and the battery to be leased including the energy. For example one pays 300 Euros monthly for battery leasing which includes 200kWh monthly charge included with the fee. With this system new battery technologies can be deployed faster, after each battery swap the old batteries are replaced with the new ones. 

EcoSphere in Space

An ecosphere, is a sealed glass aquarium in which a self-sustaining ecosystem exists. Algae, bacteria, micro-organisms and shrimp share the space, and all that is needed for the ecosystem to survive - which it can do for a number of years - is an indirect source of light and an agreeably mild temperature. The ecosphere is a closed system, which by definition means energy is free to leave and enter but matter must remain confined within. 

Astronomer Carl Sagan was quick to highlight the elemental symbiosis of its inhabitants: 'They breathe each other’s waste gases. Their solid wastes cycle also, among plants and animals and microorganisms. In this small Eden, the inhabitants have an extremely intimate relationship.'

I propose we develop EcoSphere to be tested in Space. It would be accommodated in a small satellite in Low Earth Orbit. The satellite would control the light entering the closed ecosystem and keep it in controlled temperatures. It would continuously monitor the life within the EcoSphere and broadcast live to the Earth. The idea is to experiment different ecosystems quickly and cheaply. Later, modified versions can be deployed on the Moon, Venus and the Mars.

Glass Rocket

Here is an image of a recovered Ariane 5 booster. After being recovered from the sea, the boosters were examined to ensure the stage performed as expected. However, refurbishing and reusing the recovered boosters was deemed non-cost-effective due to design and reliability complexities.

Single use solid rocket booster would be economical to operate compared to a multi use liquid propulsion stage like in SpaceX. The key is the size. It is easier and cheaper to scale a solid booster compared to a reusable liquid engine. Liquid engine design eat up R&D budget in no time. Instead invest on reducing the cost of producing the solid propellent mix and molding it into a rocket casing. This investment pays of while it would be utilized by military missile manufacturing as well. When you have high capacity and lower cost, you can build giant rockets or build hundreds of missiles on demand. Missiles are single use so as the solid boosters.

Ideally the empty rocket shell should completely melt down before hitting the ground. However I don't know a material which can withstand high pressure and temperature than melts down completely in several minutes (free fall time of a released stage). An option could be tempered glass rocket shell. It can withstand high temperatures and pressures with proper additives. And it can shatter into small round pieces when struck from a weak point like in Prince Rupert's drop. Even the rocket nozzle can be made out of shatter able glass (?). Given the trajectory of the rocket goes over the sea, small shattered glass would be scattered over the sea. Yielding minimum environmental hazard compared to a traditional rocket shell that has many exotic materials not good for the sea life.

I Don't Believe In Startup Ecosystem

The World has many problems waiting to be solved. However current corporations and startup ecosystem are not capable in solving most of them. What we need is a new type of mega corporations. Complex but flexible like a human body. It's lateral as well as vertical integrity would allow to solve problems faster and more effectively. Human body has bones to make it more rigid like corporations, but also has fingers which are flexible like startups. However they are all part of the same body. Finger goes where the arm goes and is flexible at that point. We need new generation of companies which imitates this.

Small firms are limited with what is already available. Therefore they usually only develop the software part of the solution. A company that builds the components as well as the finished product would be more agile and fast to market. The components would only have features that they would use. To maximize the profit. The company would only sell services that utilizes the products the company produces. A clearer example: Firm A provides construction services using its autonomous construction robots. Firm A manufactures most of the components that make up the robot and build the robots using these parts. Firm A do not sell the parts or the robots but provides services that utilize these robots.

Main goal of startup investors are short term profit. Investors profiles are highlighted by their exit values they achieved. We need to maximize the profit in the long run not today. Short term profit maximization does not solve the problems of the society and economical crisis never finishes. Developed countries complain about China's dominance. Small companies with limited resources prefer to manufacture their designs in China. Therefore even West has many startups their production capabilities weaken everyday. Only corporations can invest and establish manufacturing facilities. That is what West needs.

Life on Venus

Venus has a dense and very hot atmosphere. Therefore there were no evidence of water on its surface. I believe life may exist underground like Jules Verne's "Voyage au Centre de la Terre". Almost constant and cool temperatures underground would allow water to condense. As a result organisms that do not need sunshine to grow may live like fungi. Animals who feed on non-photosynthetic plants and also do not need sunshine would also survive in such an ecosystem (ex: deep sea creatures).

As a conclusion where there is energy there is life. Too cold planets would only have very small organisms if there is any.

Golden Eye 005

Outer Space Treaty and the SALT II treaty agreements prohibit weapons of mass destruction from being placed in space. I propose a global consortium to deploy and control solar concentrators on geostationary orbit for humanitarian use. The main objective being to stop the formation of hurricanes before they turn into Category 5. The concentrated solar beam may split the eye to prevent hurricane formation. Most of the solar energy would be absorbed by the clouds so the ground level would be effected minimum. The solar concentrator could also be used to melt and destroy space debris. Additionally, it can be used to destroy threatening asteroids before hitting Earth.

Finally, best wishes to heaven to Tina Turner for his amazing song 🙏

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGPBFvDz_HM

Autonomous Cooperating Explorers (ACE)

I believe success in Space starts with success on Earth. We have been developing Lunar and Mars rovers for remote exploration. I am curious about how much have we progressed on autonomous Earth explorer robots. Mining exploration and environmental research requires machinery to sample the environment. Most of these locations are remote and we would like to cover as much area as possible. It can be achieved by Autonomous Cooperating Explorer robots (ACE). We should be developing the ACE platform such that robots from different manufacturers can cooperate together autonomously. These robots should be modular and these modules can be interchanged by the robot itself. Example depending on the work the robot will mount its legs or wheels. 

When ACE robots deployed for exploration they will first establish a base where spare parts are stored, wireless relay station is mounted and batteries recharged. The batteries would be recharged using renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. Therefore ACE colony will be self sufficient. It will also erect RF transceivers for local positioning system. They will do most of the sample analysis on the field as well.

ACE platform will cover land, underwater and extraterrestrial robots for exploration. They can be utilized for permanent mining operations with their construction capabilities. In that case they would construct the road, establish electric and data connection to the mine first, then start mining the field.

Please Think BIG and develop platforms that would benefit both Earth and Space. Mature the technology on Earth and send the offspring to the Space.

Centralized E-Government Platform

We have many services centralized and dominated by one operator such as Instagram, YouTube, and WhatsApp. I recommend a centralized E-Government Platform which includes the municipalities as well. This would be especially beneficial for European countries. IT developers are scarce in Europe and are mainly exported. Rewriting E-Government software many times on different platforms do not add much value to the society, it is just a waste of valuable resources. At the end of the day each country can host this platform on their own servers and keep the data secure. Finally, E-Governments efficiency would be wide spread among countries using it while most countries own software is poor in functionality.

Mesospheric Slingshot

I would like to take forward the idea of "SpinLaunch" (https://www.spinlaunch.com). SpinLaunch's idea is to slingshot a small satellite to space by accelerating it to very high speeds in a special accelerator on the ground. My proposition is to use a very high altitude hydrogen filled balloon for the slingshot. The giant balloon will be at an altitude higher than 50km (Mesosphere). Top surface of the balloon will be covered with high efficiency solar panels which will power the accelerator (hydrogen fuel cells can also assist the solar panels). The thin atmosphere at that altitude will decrease the need for expensive heat shields and loss of energy due to atmospheric drag. The satellite would have a very small rocket on board which can be powered by liquid hydrogen and oxygen. Therefore the launch would be Carbon neutral. The satellites to be launched would be transferred to the balloon by transporting balloons like Zeppelins that utilize hydrogen. The ground launch site would be close to the ocean where hydrogen and oxygen would be generated using wind farms and ocean water.

European Space Portal (ESP)

The objective of this proposal is to come up with a solution that requires minimum exported raw materials and can be quickly implemented and monetized with different means.

ESP will be located in Frisia. Exact location can be determined by Germany and Netherlands. It will be comprised of a large airfield, manufacturing and testing facilities, offices and tourist theme park. The offshore wind farms will produce the necessary electricity as well as produce hydrogen and oxygen. German Ruhr coal will be converted to methane as well. The airfield will serve dual purpose as the launch field for the Multiplane Stage Zero of the Space Rocket as well as an ordinary airport. Accessibility to ESP will be by sea, air, train and road. Multiplane Stage Zero will utilize liquid methane (LCH₄) and liquid oxygen (LOX) as fuel. Some stages of Space Rocket will use LCH₄+LOX and others will utilize Carbon Nano particle based solid propellent (for reliability and compactness). The elevated launch of the rocket will minimize the use of exotic heat shielding materials that ae exported. Solid propellent stage casings can be recovered and reused like in US Space Shuttle Boosters.

Multiplane Stage Zero would be a tourist attraction and can be easily monetized as souvenirs. The launch will be a simple plane takeoff. Therefore people can watch closely with minimum safety problems compared to rocket takeoffs. Part of ESP will be like Legoland which will help the finance as well as attract talented people to European Space Agency compared to NASA and SpaceX.

The Next Big Thing

Modular Mobile Device Platform (Patented TR2015-03742, TR2015-04867)

The objective of this project is to separate the aesthetics from the hardware. The cover module as well as the side extension modules makes up the aesthetics part of the device. Functionally complete modules (camera, sound, wireless) allow licensing of these modules to third party companies. Finally, the design is based on current phone manufacturing technologies therefore the R&D cost of this design is considerable lowered compared to other modular designs.

The Modules:

1.1  Display Module

1.2  Sound Module

1.3  Camera Module

1.4  Battery Module

1.5  Main Electronics Module

1.6  Cover Module

1.7  Wireless Module

 

1.1 Display Module

It is the main module where all the other modules are mounted. It has touch sensitive display panel.

1.2 Sound Module

It is the module that contains the speaker and audio jack.

1.3 Camera Module

It is the module that contains camera and related electronics. The device's external buttons are also located on this module.

1.4 Battery Module

It is the main source of energy for the device.

1.5 Main Electronics Module

It is the module that contains main electronics (cpu,ram,flash rom) of the device. It forms a bridge between other modules.

1.6 Cover Module

It is the module that protects the inners of the device. It may have additional functionalities such as a secondary battery or a display.

1.7 Wireless Module

It is the module that enables cellular connectivity of the device. It also has the external USB connector.

I got the inspiration from iPhone 6 Teardown. 

My Web Sites

Ibrahim Kocaalioglu's Web Pages:

Personal Homepage. Has everything that interest me.

https://fabsole.com/

My Ideas in Turkish

https://reformlar.blogspot.com/

My Ideas in English

https://iboman2.blogspot.com/

My Photo Achieve

https://www.flickr.com/photos/iboman/albums

Poor Man's Space Travel

Poor in the title implies both the low budget requirement and less technical know how required to implement the idea. It is the final aggregate design I proposed earlier. In order to lower the cost of space travel, you have to carry more at every launch. Large and heavy cargo capability allows planetary travel as well. 

The Space Rocket will be launched from a Multiplane (Stage Zero) at a very high altitude. The multi wing plane will have small turbofan motors between the wings. Advantages of Multiplane are; high lifting capability, faster climbing, increased structural strength, compact design for such a heavy lifter plane, no need for a giant runway. The plane will have wheels under each bottom turbofan for distributed weight distribution. Multiplane will be over powered for its capacity so that it could climb at really high altitudes. At its maximum altitude it will release the Rocket. Multiplane than will ascend to ground slowly with almost no fuel left and no payload. The advantages of this approach: no need to be close to Equator to launch, much less air drag on the Rocket so less fuel would be wasted on drag, much less air drag would also allow non aerodynamic designs for the rocket, no need for complex heatshields on the Rocket, no need for complex ground launch pad. Therefore a lot of technical complexity can be avoided. Space Rocket will be multi staged Solid Propellent Rocket. Solid propellent rockets are reliable, compact, simple, easily storable compared to liquid fuel versions. The lower specific impulse of these rockets can be overcome by making them bigger and more staged. They can be manufactured faster and easier than liquid versions. The casing of these rockets can be recovered like in Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (After burnout, they were jettisoned, and parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean, where they were recovered, examined, refurbished, and reused.)

Solar Positioning System

Determining the location of a spacecraft in space is a complex process that involves three methods.

1. Radio signal based positioning. The source of radio signals are either Ground Tracking Stations (NASA Deep Space Network - DSN) or GPS satellites.

2. Onboard Sensors such as Gyroscopes and Accelerometers.

3. Celestial Navigation like the old seaman used to do.

I propose other radio signal sources The Solar Positioning System Satellites and Ground Tracking Stations on the Moon, Mars, Venus and comets.

We need to develop a standard like GPS for Solar Positioning System. These satellites should also be communication relays. The standard should also include stationary stations that would be mounted on extraterrestrial such as Moon, Mars, Venus and comets.

These satellites also solve the problem I stated in my "Solar Surrounder Satellite Network" article

https://iboman2.blogspot.com/2024/11/solar-surrounder-satellite-network.html

Lets build the infrastructure first, before we spend too much on exploring the solar system without a proper infrastructure.

Multidisciplinary Collaboration in the Idea Level

When trying to solve challenging problems my method is to look at the problem from different perspectives. When I look at the solutions produced for space travel and nuclear energy, I don't get the inspiration that a multidisciplinary team came up with that idea.  The engineers and scientists from different background should be more efficiently develop ideas if we really want a strong leap in the space and nuclear energy!

That's why we don't see a hybrid space ship design with an airplane first stage. On Earth we need a heavy lifting VTOL airplane to access urban locations for mining, disaster prevention and recovery. VTOL further can be used as the first stage of a space rocket. VTOL would have hybrid propulsion with efficient turbofan engines as well as rocket boosters.

The cost of space travel can be lowered by bigger space ships. We created giant ships, large airplanes to decrease the cost. However the space ships are still very small for the goals we want to achieve. In order to achieve this goal we should utilize the cheapest and most abundant fuels (ex: methane) and cheaper rocket structures for non reusable stages of rocket. The giant ships are made of iron not titanium. Stainless steel can be used... Therefore lost fuel and material in every launch can be economical and easy to source.

Finally we should land explorers on Venus and Mercury not on Mars or the Moon. Setting human foot on an extraterrestrial using chemical rockets is a luxury. Let the robots do the dirty work. After nuclear propulsion we can set foot.

Legs, Arms and Wings on Extraterrestrial

All the extraterrestrial robots I see have wheels. Wheels have limited mobility unless they are on a human paved roads. I guess the industry is waiting for another American entrepreneur to switch to legged robots in space. With strong rear legs and assisting wing like arms, the robots can even jump over obstacles to cover larger areas and explore rocky hills. The evolution of the living creatures yield legs, arms and wings not wheel.

Approaches to Space Conquer

Jules Verne in his "De la Terre à la Lune" states that only America has the capacity to cast such a huge cannon and produce large quantities of gun powder in short time; with good coordination and collaboration.  Europe on paper can be a Union but collaboration and coordination within the Union lack way behind the UNITED States of America.  The key to success in space is to be able to send an object to the space at a lower cost. US's private sector focus on this problem mainly and are more open to experiment new risky ideas than any other nation. And we see that it pays off. Europe's resources are more dispersed on scientific research. I recommend Europe to put a hold on most of the scientific research on space and solve the low cost space travel problem first. Otherwise they will keep lagging behind and their expensive space launches would be limited to military only.

Europe cannot think simple and come up with simpler ways of solving a problem. In 1930s RCA (Radio Corporation of America) came up with an "All American Five" radio design. It was cheaper to manufacture, reliable and easy to repair. Versus a Grundig radio which was more expensive to manufacture, not so reliable due to complexity and it took more time and money to repair it.  Same approach continuous in the Space Age.

While writing the article I am listening to "The Dark Side of The Moon", I Love this album.

Motivating the White-Collar

I would like to rephrase my article from 2017 and add some points to that.

https://reformlar.blogspot.com/2017/05/insan-yonetimi-uzerine.html

Mainstream capitalist firm approach of managing a firm is to do more with less people. I propose the opposite. The company hierarchy should utilize more redundancy at the higher hierarchy. When ones brain is over utilized one starts to make bad decisions which is disastrous for the whole firm. There should be less burden on upper management and therefore can see the big picture clearly with less noise due to overloaded brain. More critically they shouldn't get the lions share of the total salary.  The company should be operated like a professional orchestra. As the individual becomes more productive and yield quality results one should earn much more. Earnings should be like in a video game. As you succeed you earn more points, higher salary. The tasks will be divided into smaller subtasks that can be accomplished with several hours of work. As one accomplishes that subtask and submits it, one earns part of the salary set for that subtask. The rest of the salary would be earned after the quality review. Employee would be paid the next day by the amount of salary the one earns the day before. The employees would be motivated like in a video game; work hard, do quality work and receive the award the next day. Like in a game as you earn more money you are eligible for higher earning subtasks. Therefore ones earning increase exponentially if they keep doing good work. Sub-tasking allows flexible working as well. When you have time you work hard and earn more. Also tasks do not depend on individuals for completion which also supports flexible working.

This method of working should be supported by high value adding strategy. If the employees outcome is for a low value adding project or a product, you cannot finance the system. I will discuss this on another article.

Stage Zero of a Space Rocket

My previous proposition for a single stage Space Ship is not feasible with chemical rocket engines. It maybe feasible with a fusion rocket engine which is not feasible at the moment. Here I propose a zeroth stage for a space rocket. The purpose of this stage is to raise the rocket to a very high altitude where it launches. At very high altitude the air drag and Earth's gravity would be lower. Therefore the rocket can be launched anywhere on Earth, no need to be closer to equator. No need for complex heatshields and aerodynamic designs compared to a sea level launch. The heavy weight lifter stage zero can be used on commercial heavy and large cargo transfer. This is important for a sustainable space policy. The more the technologies developed for space also utilized on Earth the less cost would be on the space budget. Solution to a successful space exploration is not increasing the budget but spending it wisely. 

The Stage Zero can be an X-Wing for VTOL operation. X Wing design would allow easy vertical take off and its larger wing area assist heavy lifting. 

X-Wing would utilize Scimitar engine, like the one on this article "Simulation of a Variable-Combined-Cycle Engine for Dual Subsonic and Supersonic Cruise" (Novel propulsion concepts are to be developed if the sustained high speed flight is to be feasible. To that end, the Scimitar engine benefits from the usage of cryogenic hydrogen through a complex combined cycle.)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263852855_Simulation_of_a_Variable-Combined-Cycle_Engine_for_Dual_Subsonic_and_Supersonic_Cruise

X-Wing would have additional liquid propulsion rockets to assist heavy vertical take off. After take off it would fly like a plane and would utilize very efficient turbo fan engines. In the lower altitudes it would utilize the turbofan setup. At higher altitudes it would transform into a Scramjet and later into an Air Turbo Rocket (ATR). Scramjets theoretically can operate at up to 75 km. As a result Stage Zero would set the launch point of a space rocket from ground zero to 75km. It's VTOL design allows easy launch and easy return. Could be operated like an ordinary plane with a lower maintenance cost than a recoverable rocket. It would totally work with liquid hydrogen and oxygen which is environmentally friendly. 

Space Debris Dragger

The problematic Space Debris are the ones that stay in LEO (Low Earth Orbit) for years. Mainly the drag at their orbiting altitude slows them. When they slow down, Earth's gravity overcomes centrifugal force and they burn up in the atmosphere. Solar winds and storms usually increase the drag on LEO. We can try to mimic the solar winds high energy particles by focused electron or photon beams. I propose the giant hydrogen balloons for that. They would be positioned at higher altitudes like 50km. Their large surface area would be covered by high efficiency solar panels. The panels would charge super capacitors that operate the big electron or laser  guns. The gun would be directed at small space debris and create drag points on their orbiting paths. With this method we would create clean zones for LEO satellites to operate. The operating cost of such a setup would be very low. Deployment would be cheaper and faster compared to a space debris cleaning solution.

Global Space Agency

I propose a Global Space Agency. A successful and long term space advancement relies on solving more of Earthly problems and contribution of more nations. There will be two main objectives of  Global Space Agency; explore the universe and establish bases on extraterrestrial objects (Moon, Venus, Mars, Titan …). These objectives will be divided among the member nations. For universe exploration; reliable, low maintenance self sufficient (renewable electric generation and satellite internet connectivity) telescope systems will be developed and deployed around the world.  Balloon telescopes will also be deployed worldwide. The data collected from each telescope will be sold to required parties and end users to finance the investment in each country. Also micro satellites will be designed by member nations which will accommodate certain standards for interoperable communication. Therefore every nation will have at least a small satellite of their own. The launch sites will be limited to several countries for security purposes. For space base establishment; we need to be able to construct using materials available, to be able to grove plants and animals with minimum water for maximum nutrition. A lot of nations on the world have poor infrastructure and their diet lack nutrition. The solutions of these Earthly problems will be used partially on the space as well. Also, these solutions will yield positive economical value which would help to finance the space exploration. The objective is to direct money and human resources to Earthly problems that have a link to space exploration. Solving world problems will solve some of the space problems as well. The minimal economical burden of space agencies on the governments will help to accomplish more long term goals. Poor countries innovative people will look and find economical ways of solving problems where a rich countries people would overlook. More people would be motivated for space while seeing their accumulated effort.

The Global Space Agency (Space Federation) would be conducting scientific and commercial space projects. The national space agencies would be conducting the military space projects.