There are a few things that we use commonly today that haven't changed in a significant way for decades, even though the world around us and other aspects have evolved to new heights.
One of these is air travel, or rather the jet engines powering air travel. Since the beginning, commercial airliners have used jet engines that are powered by fossil fuels. This changed our whole world and our very idea of distance. The world suddenly became a small place.
However, after decades and decades of this, we have come to realize that the conventional jet engines have a small but not insignificant impact on the environment. Commercial air travel contributes 2.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions (not including fighter jets).
Now, it seems like there has finally been the breakthrough we had been waiting for. Scientists have created a jet engine that is powered only by electricity. Yes, it sounds like something straight out of science fiction but it is true.
Scientists have created a new prototype jet engine that compresses air and ionizes it with microwaves. This generates plasma that thrusts the engine forward. So, in theory, an airplane with this engine can fly using just electricity and the air around it as fuel.
The prototype was able to lift a one-kilogram steel ball 24 millimeters in the air. That doesn't sound like much, but it is the same thrust, proportional to scale, as a conventional jet engine. This is what makes this so impressive.
The significance of this breakthrough cannot be stressed upon enough. For the first time, there will be something that won't need fuel to run and will instead use something that is everywhere - air!!
The commercial air travel industry is one of the largest users of fossil fuels. If the electric jet engine becomes a reality, we could totally do away with all that fossil fuel use. In fact, this is the motivation behind the scientists' work.
It will still take quite some time for this technology to go from being a prototype to a real-world thing. However, once that happens, you could expect tremours throughout this industry. Air travel could suddenly become much cheaper than before!
