The Gravity Train

My latest invention is called the Gravity Train. The gravity train is a series of Lighter Than Air platforms that lift one end of a Gigantic zipline thousands of feet above the ground. Baskets are lifted up to the platform via boyency from either hot air or the compression and decompression of lighter than air gas. The Baskets / Pods / Shuttles / Capsules rise to the Air Platform Station where they are attached to a new materials zipline and dropped down the zipline to a resting station many miles away. The principle is that more energy is conserved from lifting the vehicle than from pushing it along the ground. If you push a vehicle along the ground you have to constantly fight friction, but in a gravity train friction can be harnessed to re-power a battery in the capsule.
In the above picture the left side would be a city like Covin,a California and the right side would be another city like San Bernardino, California. The Gravity Train should re-gain most of the energy lost in powering it in the form of travel and battery energy. As you can see from the picture there is a slight incline at the end of the line if there is any need to help slow the cart however the resistance from the generator should be sufficient. The cart is recycled. These stations could leap frog all around the globe.
There is also a version of the Gravity Train that uses geo-thermal energy to power the up transportation however I do not believe that drilling giant holes in the Earth would be wise. The heat from the Earth's core could be the reason life is possible creating the contrast with the sun and sapping that energy could lead to a closer demise of the Earth life system. This is evidenced by the diminishing size of life on earth as the core cools. It would be wise to power the upwards locomotion with either the above mentioned compressed gas or heat depending on which proves to be more efficient. I have not done the math.
Nicholas Juntilla

Elevated Bike Paths

Elevated bike paths were first seen earlier this century, but I came up with the idea independantly. Basically it is a bike path that is elevated one or more stories above street level like a freeway for bikes. The bike path might be used by electric bikes as well as walking traffic. The path would provide a safe was for non-automobile traffic to traverse Los Angeles. The paths would be enclosed for safety. They would follow above the sidewalk area in places and in other places move to the center of the street. The elevated bike paths would also ad a futuristic and hopeful artistic element to a city that is known for it's dislike of change.

Nick

Public Maps Local Directory

Public Maps is an idea I had a long time ago for a business. Actually I converted it into a business idea because I was in need of money. The real idea doesn't require anyone to make a profit. Any particular city could implement it. If you have ever seen those maps at Disney Land where you will see the listing of attractions or more likely if you have ever been to a mall you will see a public map with the stores listed. With the advent of GPS systems and Google maps it is becoming less necessary, but it would still be a huge boon on any city or innovative private citizen to post maps at 7-11 or Gas Stations. These maps would have listings of local business so that residents would know what businesses are available to them. They would also be very useful to travelers and anyone not familar with the city. Funny, when I had this idea I was amazed that we don't already do this as a people. Of course these maps would have to be updated and have a sturdy case. It might be someone's job to go around the city from business to business and also update these maps. The spirit of togetherness alone would be enough to implement this, but I'm sure you could imagine all the other benefits.

This picture sucks. I originally imagined the map being on the corner, but when I started drawing I messed it up immediately because the map was too small.

As usual please let me know if you are going to fire this one up

Lighter Than Air Plane - Flight Fingers Make Lighter Than Air Planes Possible

This plane solves two problems. It is a lighter than air craft that does not get blown around by the wind and can still achieve reasonable speeds and control without being governed completely by the weather. It is a plane that can hover in one place without using any energy. The flight fingers are air bags that drag behind the craft when it is in forward direction. When the craft needs to hover or stand or land in one place the craft simply powers down and comes to rest under the fingers. The multiple fingers allow some amount of air to travel between the bags. The fingers could also be partially deflated if it helps in forward flight. The aircraft has the flexibiliy of an airplane and a helicopter without the complication.

In the left side of the picture the craft is in motion with the fingers dragging behind. On the right the craft is hovering, landing, or taking off with the fingers above.
Nicholas Juntilla
If you are an aircraft designer please don't call me up and arrange a meeting so you can kill me.

Laptop Case Standards

This is perhaps a couple years too late because laptops may be fading out as a form for computers, but I'm surprised no one has ever thought about standardizing the laptop case the way desktop cases have been for years. People love to buy desktops and upgrade components over the years. The same would be true had a company or group ever decided to standardize the laptop case including a standard dimension for the motherboard and power supply. This would allow people to turbo charge, customize, and fix their laptops if they ever broke. It would give control to the customer. This would allow new opportunity for businesses to sell parts directly to the customer and give the customer the flexibility and longevity they crave. It would also make laptops seem less 'vulnerable' in that 'if one thing goes wrong the whole thing is lost' way. I imagine companies would start to come out with specialized rugged cases and even waterproof cases. The laptops might be larger than the smallest laptops, but we know people are willing to buy larger laptops to replace their desktops. There might also be a smaller case standard like the miniATX was to the ATX.

Nick

Post-It Note Printer or 3x5 Card Printer

Most printing jobs are small or at least the information is. We want directions to the club or a serial number. Maybe you want to copy and paste a phone number from your computer to REAL life. That is where the Post-It Note Printer would come in to play. The printer itself might stick on to the side of your monitor and be attached by USB. A window in the OS would have a blank square where you could just drag information and have it printed right away without the guilt and obvious excess of using entire sheets of paper for every little job. Why don't we have more options? An entire 8x11 inche sheet of paper seems like an enormous amount of space (it is also double sided) to use when you want to print out your google maps directions or maybe even just a note. Printing 3x5 cards would be a bonus for presentations, larger amounts of information and whatever else. When will we have these tiny printers?

Nick

If you spot any of this in the wild please let me know. I don't profit from the ideas, but I'd love to see it.

email: nick(at)worldnick(dot)net

The Level System - Education

The Level System of education is a system where by each student is given a chart. The chart displays the subjects the student has attended on the bottom and the Level of the student's current ability on the left. It is a bar chart. Every student may attend any subject class regardless of age group. To progress in levels the student is required to take a test. There is no limit to how quickly or slowly a student may progress. The level system encourages both competition and life long learning. The Level System Replaces our Current Education System. The Level System allows for teachers to teach one subject all year long. A student may walk in on any class provided there is room. Ideally the building or system of buildings where the teaching is done would be a large group facility like a modern day community college except for students of all ages. It might also be possible to create higher learning institution like modern day private colleges for students of high level or PHD students who have completed all levels of a subject.


An example of the Level System would be a student who has a Level 4 in Basic math, a level 3 in basic reading and writing skills, a level 7 in World History and a level 2 in U.S. History. This student may have many young classmates in his reading class and many older classmates in his history class. This also promotes cross-generational communication. To gain levels the student would have to pass state and or federal exams. The student would be able educate himself/herself according to his/her needs. The student could take more time in some subjects and excel in others. This would give the United States a more accurate assesment of our populations education, it would give employers a better understanding of their employees, and it would give the individual access to the education she NEEDS instead of a generalization based on age. There could also be many sub-subjects and branches from basic splitting into many more advances subjects. I would also recommend there be no requirement to attend school.

Nick Juntilla