Vacuum airship — reality or fantasy?

Imagine an aircraft capable of floating in the sky without fuel, without engines and without harmful emissions — simply through the difference in air and vacuum densities. Sounds like science fiction? Yet the idea of a vacuum airship was born back in the 18th century and continues to fascinate the minds of engineers, physicists and futurologists. Today we'll explore whether this concept can become reality in the 21st century — and why now is the time to believe in it.

A vacuum airship is a hypothetical aircraft in which lift is created not by light gas (hydrogen or helium), but by a vacuum inside a sealed envelope. Since vacuum has zero density, it theoretically provides the maximum possible difference with the density of surrounding air — and therefore maximum lift.

The idea was first proposed in 1670 by Italian monk Francesco Lana de Terzi, who suggested using copper spheres from which air had been evacuated. Later, in the 18th century, scientists continued developing this concept, understanding its potential. However, practical implementation long remained beyond the realm of possibility — due to the technical and materials limitations of the time.

The physics here is simple and elegant — it's all about Archimedes' law. Any object immersed in a liquid or gas experiences a buoyant force equal to the weight of the displaced medium. In the case of Earth's atmosphere, if the envelope contains vacuum (density ≈ 0 kg/m³) while the outside is air (density ≈ 1.2 kg/m³ at sea level), the difference in densities will create powerful lift.

Calculations show: vacuum airships based on this principle could be 16% more effective than helium equivalents. This means greater payload capacity with the same dimensions — or, conversely, smaller size with the same payload. And most importantly — no risk of explosion (as with hydrogen) and no dependence on expensive helium.

Despite the appeal of the idea, implementation faces a colossal engineering problem: atmospheric pressure. At sea level it's about 101 kPa — meaning a vacuum airship envelope must withstand 1 atmosphere of pressure from all sides without buckling or collapsing.

Classic materials — steel, aluminum, even modern composites — are either too heavy or insufficiently strong. The structure's weight quickly exceeds the lift, and the aircraft simply won't fly.

History knows several attempts:

• In the 1970s, Soviet engineer Yuri Dolgov proposed a vacuum aerostat concept with a titanium frame.

• In 2004, Chinese scientists published calculations showing theoretical feasibility using carbon nanotubes.

• In the 2010s, research in the US and Europe explored creating ultra-light but super-strong envelopes based on aerogels and graphene.

But none of the prototypes could overcome the "weight vs strength" barrier.

Today everything is changing. Breakthroughs in materials science are opening new horizons:

• Aerogels — some of the lightest solid materials on Earth, capable of withstanding significant loads with minimal mass.

• Carbon nanofibers and graphene — dozens of times stronger than steel, yet incredibly light.

• Metamaterials — artificially created structures that can be designed for specific tasks, including resistance to compression.

By combining these technologies, scientists can already model envelopes that could theoretically maintain vacuum while remaining lighter than displaced air.

Is this possible in the 21st century? Yes — and not just possible, but inevitable. With growing demand for ecological transport, space logistics development and the drive for energy-independent solutions, the vacuum airship is no longer a dream but an engineering challenge being solved right now.

The "New Generation Airships" project brings together leading materials scientists, aerodynamicists and engineers from Russia and around the world to create advanced aircraft models. And in the future, possibly even to realize the vacuum airship idea for the first time in history. We stand on the threshold of an aviation revolution — and you have a chance to be part of this breakthrough.

Don't miss the opportunity to invest in technology that will change the world.

Support the "New Generation Airships" project — and become a co-author of the future!

👉 Invest now — your contribution today will become tomorrow's lifting force.