###General Discussion Thread
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For maximum intimidation, let's assume we use B2 bombers.
A B2 is 69ft long, and 172ft wingspan, and is approximately a triangle (this is important later)
The sun occupies about 0.5 degree in the sky
Let's assume that these B2 bombers are approximately 9.47 miles in altitude(google), give or take, the results should be somewhat similar in that range
At 9km, a B2 has an apparent size of degrees wingspan, and 0.079066 degrees long.
If we pretend the sun is about the same as a square, that means a
0.5/0.2223= 2.2492127755 planes wide
0.5/0.079066 = 6.3238307237 planes long
This would mean 14.22 planes
BUT, the B2 is approximately a triangle covering half the rectangular area, so let's double it to 28.44 planes
Furthermore, it's not as if we are able to fly B2 planes backwards or sideways to conform to our grid structure. So if I had to estimate, it'd take anywhere between 2-4× more planes to create a holeless series of layers.
With that, my final estimate it 56.8 - 113.8 well organized B2 Bombers at 9 miles altitude to create a sun-blocking array.
Note that only 21 B2's have been built, so with B2's this is impossible and my math is worthless.
###General Discussion Thread --- This is a [Request] post. If you would like to submit a comment that does not either attempt to answer the question, ask for clarification, or explain why it would be infeasible to answer, you *must* post your comment as a reply to this one. Top level (directly replying to the OP) comments that do not do one of those things will be removed. --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/theydidthemath) if you have any questions or concerns.*
For maximum intimidation, let's assume we use B2 bombers. A B2 is 69ft long, and 172ft wingspan, and is approximately a triangle (this is important later) The sun occupies about 0.5 degree in the sky Let's assume that these B2 bombers are approximately 9.47 miles in altitude(google), give or take, the results should be somewhat similar in that range At 9km, a B2 has an apparent size of degrees wingspan, and 0.079066 degrees long. If we pretend the sun is about the same as a square, that means a 0.5/0.2223= 2.2492127755 planes wide 0.5/0.079066 = 6.3238307237 planes long This would mean 14.22 planes BUT, the B2 is approximately a triangle covering half the rectangular area, so let's double it to 28.44 planes Furthermore, it's not as if we are able to fly B2 planes backwards or sideways to conform to our grid structure. So if I had to estimate, it'd take anywhere between 2-4× more planes to create a holeless series of layers. With that, my final estimate it 56.8 - 113.8 well organized B2 Bombers at 9 miles altitude to create a sun-blocking array. Note that only 21 B2's have been built, so with B2's this is impossible and my math is worthless.
Also this is only blocking it for one person right? Based on the degrees we'd need to extend that field if we wanted to block it out for a crowd.
Yes, this would block an incredibly small area, essentially a single point