The age of electric flight is finally upon us
As others have noted, electric flights require a major breakthrough in the battery technology. Here are energy density numbers for gasoline, jet fuel, and lithium-ion batteries:<p>Gas and jet fuel specific energy density ~= 45 MJ&#x2F;kg;<p>Lithium-ion specific energy density &lt; 1 MJ&#x2F;kg<p>Even worse, a jet engine is much better at generating power. A modern high-bypass turbofan engine can generate 10 kW&#x2F;kg whereas an electric motor is around 1 kW&#x2F;kg.<p>In short we need much better batteries and much lighter motors. This is not going to happen anytime soon. A more reasonable option is to create carbon-neutral fuels (biofuels, carbon sequestration, etc.).