Quote:
Originally Posted by sir_pudding
Liftwood allows continuous lighter than air lift regardless of atmospheric pressure, which is how Space 1889 craft can even reach escape velocity with such low thrusts. It would make SSOs that are super cheap and efficient.
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What Tshiggens said and this too and more:
Liftwood has the potential to make air freight transport vastly cheaper. I don't know if it would make it all-the-way competitive with oceanic and train freight but I'll bet it could make it competitive with OTR trucks. It would depend on how much it cost to bring it to Earth, and on the total supply available.
There would be a
lot of research projects to see if the stuff could be made to grow on Earth. Even if the ultimate answer was 'no', people would keep trying because the potential payoff would be so huge. Sort of like when the secret of silk was smuggled to Europe.
Along with cheaper freight, there would be substantial military applications for liftwood. Imagine if you could build a flying personnel transport that was as fast as planes, but could carry as many troops or as much materiel as a sea ship. Think about that for a minute.