Air-Powered Car Coming to U.S. in 2009 to 2010 at Sub-$18,000, Could Hit 1000-Mile Ra

bkw1982 said:
great job MG

I saw this on discovery channel special on new concept cars......the inventor is also working on a generator that will suck in air and refill the tanks while you drive....YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE TO STOP!!!!
Click to expand...

Well, that would imply perpetual motion....and if they figure that out, well...the universe might just collapse.

Even if the generator runs to recharge the tanks, the generator has to get power from someplace. The only way that might possibly work is through constant solar charging, and right now PV panels aren't advanced enough to charge that much power on the fly.

Agree with CK though, I'm holding out for the Volt. Not for domestic vs. import reasons, its just going to be a nicer car.
 
sploke said:
Well, that would imply perpetual motion....and if they figure that out, well...the universe might just collapse.

Even if the generator runs to recharge the tanks, the generator has to get power from someplace. The only way that might possibly work is through constant solar charging, and right now PV panels aren't advanced enough to charge that much power on the fly.

Agree with CK though, I'm holding out for the Volt. Not for domestic vs. import reasons, its just going to be a nicer car.
Click to expand...

well it wont be true perpetual motion cause it wont put out more then it takes in. the generator supposdly will get its power from the the wheels. kinda like a bike generator, storing energy in a battery....as i understand it. Either way its a stepin the right direction.
 
gasoline, biofuel,diesel, alchol..driven generator??
generator will drive airpump to feed air tanks?
 
all they need to do is build an engine with enough power to send 50-75% of the power to the wheels and then the remaning percent to the air compressor hooked up to an air tank. whalla. perpetual motion.

lets say they double the engine's output to 150 hp. it can run on 75 hp, as it does now. the other 75 hp could be used to fill the air tank via a compressed-air-powered air compressor. it probably wont take 75 hp to fill one and keep it filled though, so it would be a good idea to make the power to the wheels v. power to the air compressor variable.

also, they could (and should) add an electric motor to the mix with regenerative braking and all that good stuff.
 
As soon as a full-size truck or SUV becomes available, I'll be more interested.
 
jm1212 said:
all they need to do is build an engine with enough power to send 50-75% of the power to the wheels and then the remaning percent to the air compressor hooked up to an air tank. whalla. perpetual motion.

lets say they double the engine's output to 150 hp. it can run on 75 hp, as it does now. the other 75 hp could be used to fill the air tank via a compressed-air-powered air compressor. it probably wont take 75 hp to fill one and keep it filled though, so it would be a good idea to make the power to the wheels v. power to the air compressor variable.

also, they could (and should) add an electric motor to the mix with regenerative braking and all that good stuff.
Click to expand...

Heh if perpetual motion was that easy, it would be a commonplace thing by now. You're saying use a compressed-air powered motor to run a pump to charge tanks to run the motor. In an ideal situation, i.e. perfect 100% efficiency, yes this would work indefinitely. However, any motor has loss - the maximum efficiency most motors will work at is closer to 50-80%, internal combustion engines are actually only 30% efficient. So, say for every hp worth of compressed air you put into the engine, you will get maybe .5-.8 hp out. First law of thermodynamics - no such thing as a free lunch.
 
sploke said:
Heh if perpetual motion was that easy, it would be a commonplace thing by now. You're saying use a compressed-air powered motor to run a pump to charge tanks to run the motor. In an ideal situation, i.e. perfect 100% efficiency, yes this would work indefinitely. However, any motor has loss - the maximum efficiency most motors will work at is closer to 50-80%, internal combustion engines are actually only 30% efficient. So, say for every hp worth of compressed air you put into the engine, you will get maybe .5-.8 hp out. First law of thermodynamics - no such thing as a free lunch.
Click to expand...

30% efficient and 100% cooler! ;):headbang2:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom