Sauron

thanks insane_alien - that's exactly what i thought although the idea of filling a balloon with air didn't seem that energy intensive to me. I'll see if I can come up with a way to reuse the balloon that does the lifting. If that is possible do you see it as feasible or can you imagine a way to reuse the lifting balloon? Thanks!

came up with this idea recently after viewing a show about how air balloons can safely lift large, heavy objects from the bottom of the sea. I would like to know, from a physics/engineering perspective, is this idea plausible or a complete joke? Basically: The lifting method employs air-bags. A balloon is attached to the load, and air is pumped into it, generating lift equivalent to the water displaced. Crude drawing here: http://vidlord.com/UnderwaterTurbineIdea1.jpg See the following regarding air bag lifting large object from the sea: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5516235/description.html The tanks do not have to be hardened, expensive tanks but could be massive, ridged, cheap balloons themselves. There are relatively cheap air compressors that would fill the balloon quickly and efficiently although ideally the filled airbag would be reused and not have to be refilled. The entire process would have to be fully automated/computer controlled. Thanks for any feedback.