Scientists could fly hosepipes 20km into space attached to balloons to cool the planet
HOSEPIPES could be flown 12.4 miles into the sky tethered to balloons to cool the planet in a global warming emergency, scientists revealed yesterday.
Particles would be pumped into the stratosphere to act like a mirror and reflect the sun’s rays back into space.
It is thought 10 balloons, each about the size of Wembley Stadium, could lift a pipe that would spray ten million tonnes of particles a year and cool the planet by 2C.
Study leader Dr Matt Watson said: “The advantage of this is that it acts very fast. But it is hard to imagine using this in anything other than a dire emergency.”
Dr Watson is leading SPICE, a £1.6million, three-year project to investigate whether the idea – called solar reflective technology – would work in practice.
Scientists will next month attempt to raise a hose to 0.6 miles attached to a balloon and pump water through it. It is hoped the trial, at RAF Sculthorpe in Norfolk, will offer useful information on reaching 12.4 miles.
Balloons with pipes attached could then be launched if, for instance, a huge iceberg broke off the Arctic and threatened to raise sea levels.
However, there is a risk is that altering the brightness of sun in the sky could change plant life and affect weather patterns.
Dr Watson, of Bristol University, added: “It is not simply a scientific decision. There are huge ethical and governmental issues around this.
“Just because we can do it does not mean we have the right to do it. We are not advocating this as a good idea – we just want to know more about it.”
Cambridge University scientist Dr Hugh Hunt, who is leading the Sculthorpe test, said it will be possible to fly balloons without pipes at 12.4 miles within five years. He said: “There are a lot of engineering challenges.”
Details of the test were unveiled at the British Science Festival in Bradford yesterday.
Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-world/2011/09/14/scientists-could-fly-hosepipes-20km-into-space-attached-to-balloons-to-cool-the-planet-115875-23418525/#ixzz1Y12LDBr2
"I don't understand how someone could like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, but not like Twilight!!!"
"Last book I read was Brokeback Mountain, I just don't have the patience for them unless it's softcore porn."
(The Voice of a Generation and Seece)
"If you cant stand the sound of your own voice than dont become a singer !!!!!"
(pizzahut451)
