How to Harvest Aether to fuel my Airship ?

[Tales of Stretch]

Good Day Fellow Steampunkers <3

I am curious to know -
How would one go about harvesting Aether to fuel one's Airship?

Any ideas?
How would you go about it?

What sort of contraption would you use?

---
Just a recap on "What is Aether?" -
AETHER, is the primary fuel and power source for most higher end devices in the Multiverse. For over two centuries this primal energy source has been harvested for its magical and efficient properties.

It's physical properties and appearance differ widely depending on which Reality you're in. It's commonly found as a plasma, solid, liquid, or gaseous combustible whose manipulation makes for a powerful energy source that allows the fantastic travel through time and space that makes the Multiverse possible. It is the primary building block of existence as it spawns the creation of new Realities when enough of it collects in Aetheric Space.

Aether is generated by use of imagination. From fantasy to fear any time the mind of intelligent being is made to speculate and wonder it generates Aether into the Multiverse.

[von Corax]

Hello, Tales of Stretch, and welcome to The Steampunk Forum at Brass Goggles.

Here are a couple of ideas I had a few years ago.:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/443323157044278642/

Mid-Altitude Æther Harvester. This is an early prototype of the de Ath-Plundje harvester constructed "on the cheap" at the yard of Hiram Plundje Ærial Salvage and Scrap Iron Works from materials on hand. Of particular note are the unshrouded de Ath spiral intake manifold on the nose of the compressor nacelle and the spherical æther-storage containers below. Harvester craft of this design were notorious for their tendency to capsize when fully loaded due to the added buoyancy of the compressed æther; this was overcome in later designs by the simple expedient of allowing the entire craft to pivot like a Ferris wheel around the control car. The added lift from a full load also prevented the craft from descending and necessitated that the entire harvester be winched downward to unload at the refining platform using the large wheels visible below the tankage.

While technically successful, the de Ath-Plundje harvesters faced numerous practical obstacles. The 150-mi. operational ceiling meant that the collected æther contained large amounts of atmosphere which had to be removed by the refining platforms, and the Sutton-de Ath compressors required constant maintenance and supervision. Still, they were at least moderately cost-effective, and it fell to the de Ath-Plundjes to provide a steady supply of raw æther  right up until the introduction of the St John-Byrne unmanned drift harvesters.

Vessel? Docking platform? Both?

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/326440672963522540/

A Robur-Barron æther-refining platform. Due to the atmospheric pressure at the altitudes at which raw æther was collected, platforms like this one were needed to separate the æther from the waste air. Such a platform would typically service a flotilla of between five and 15 harvester craft; purified æther would be transported by tanker ship to ground level. It is a tribute to the Robur-Barron design that these platforms remained in service well after the de Ath-Plundje harvesters were superseded by the St John-Byrne drift collectors; although the design was more than a century old at the time, the Robur-Barrons were well able to capitalize on the purer feedstocks provided by the high-altitude drifters.

Also illustrated is a later-model de Ath-Plundje style harvester constructed by Komme and Causey Æronautics. (Note the distinctive square-mesh screen protecting the de Ath spiral manifold.) Hector Causey and Wolfgang Komme patented a number of crucial enhancements to the Sutton-de Ath compression system, and the Komme-Causey de Ath-Plundje had a major impact on the industry.

The Robur-Barron platforms could also serve as refueling stations.

[Tales of Stretch]

This answer was WAY better than I could have ever imagined!
Thank you Dear Great Old One! Your wisdom and knowledge is greatly appreciated 

Hello, Tales of Stretch, and welcome to The Steampunk Forum at Brass Goggles.

Here are a couple of ideas I had a few years ago.:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/443323157044278642/

Mid-Altitude Æther Harvester. This is an early prototype of the de Ath-Plundje harvester constructed "on the cheap" at the yard of Hiram Plundje Ærial Salvage and Scrap Iron Works from materials on hand. Of particular note are the unshrouded de Ath spiral intake manifold on the nose of the compressor nacelle and the spherical æther-storage containers below. Harvester craft of this design were notorious for their tendency to capsize when fully loaded due to the added buoyancy of the compressed æther; this was overcome in later designs by the simple expedient of allowing the entire craft to pivot like a Ferris wheel around the control car. The added lift from a full load also prevented the craft from descending and necessitated that the entire harvester be winched downward to unload at the refining platform using the large wheels visible below the tankage.

While technically successful, the de Ath-Plundje harvesters faced numerous practical obstacles. The 150-mi. operational ceiling meant that the collected æther contained large amounts of atmosphere which had to be removed by the refining platforms, and the Sutton-de Ath compressors required constant maintenance and supervision. Still, they were at least moderately cost-effective, and it fell to the de Ath-Plundjes to provide a steady supply of raw æther  right up until the introduction of the St John-Byrne unmanned drift harvesters.

Vessel? Docking platform? Both?

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/326440672963522540/

A Robur-Barron æther-refining platform. Due to the atmospheric pressure at the altitudes at which raw æther was collected, platforms like this one were needed to separate the æther from the waste air. Such a platform would typically service a flotilla of between five and 15 harvester craft; purified æther would be transported by tanker ship to ground level. It is a tribute to the Robur-Barron design that these platforms remained in service well after the de Ath-Plundje harvesters were superseded by the St John-Byrne drift collectors; although the design was more than a century old at the time, the Robur-Barrons were well able to capitalize on the purer feedstocks provided by the high-altitude drifters.

Also illustrated is a later-model de Ath-Plundje style harvester constructed by Komme and Causey Æronautics. (Note the distinctive square-mesh screen protecting the de Ath spiral manifold.) Hector Causey and Wolfgang Komme patented a number of crucial enhancements to the Sutton-de Ath compression system, and the Komme-Causey de Ath-Plundje had a major impact on the industry.

The Robur-Barron platforms could also serve as refueling stations.

[RJBowman]

There were real world air ships that were filled with buoyant helium or hydrogen, and were fueled with gasoline or coal.

One of my pet peeves with steampunk is when fantasy science is invented to replace real world science that actually existed.

[David Vivian Haraldson]

There were real world air ships that were filled with buoyant helium or hydrogen, and were fueled with gasoline or coal.

One of my pet peeves with steampunk is when fantasy science is invented to replace real world science that actually existed.

Well, I see what you mean--but how do you feel about people playing with discredited scientific theories? (E.g., Space 1889's aether propellers?)

One other approach: I wonder if Ms @Tales of Stretch has taken a look at Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Vril as a possible power source? (Let's ignore the "rather unfortunate" 1950+ political associations. :| )

[David Vivian Haraldson]

I will add:

• I love @von Corax 's models! Splendid work!
• I have managed to unearth two threads about aether: "Concerning Aether" and "What Is Aether?"
• I have to ask: @Tales of Stretch , can you tell us a little more about your project?

Welcome to the board!

[von Corax]

I will add:

• I love @von Corax 's models! Splendid work!

I must point out that the artwork is not mine, only the words.

[David Vivian Haraldson]

Well, the words are most excellent, too! 

[RJBowman]

The historical concept of aether was an invisible intangible fluid through which electromagnetic waves could propagate; when it was realized that space itself could bend and no fluid was needed to propagate energy waves, the concept of aether became obsolete.

Look at science fiction works that involve space warps. Aether would be harvested using heavy duty electromagnetic forces to compress the invisible fluid into some kind device that could contain it in it's compressed form.