An alternative second car?

[VoyT]

It is cute .. sorta looks like one of those Smart Cars that are coming out on the market.

 

[Texas Proud]

It is an interesting concept.... but from someone in TEXAS where it gets to 100 all the time in summer... how far can you go with the air running full blast

and what is your backup mode When you get stuck in traffic and waste all your air cooling yourself off

 

[ERD50]

This efficiency rate is better than virtually any car currently operating in this country.

Combining electricity and air to power individual vehicles seems like a good alternative to me.

I've heard of these before, but I have my doubts. Remember, the compressed air is just another way to store the electrical energy that was used to compress the air. So, if compressed air tanks and air motors are cheaper and more efficient than recharging batteries in an electric car, there might be something to it. But, that is the comparison. Batteries and electric motors are pretty efficient. Though batteries are not cheap - so if the high pressure tank is cheaper than batteries in the future, it could have some merit.

So, there is no silver bullet here - just another way to store electrical energy, and energy is always lost in the conversion.

I remember the electric buses on some streets in Chicago - the overhead wires were a nuisance and an eyesore, but that was probably the cleanest thing going - no storage/conversion losses at all (just transmission losses in the wires).

I think FedEx was looking into a hybrid system for their delivery trucks - instead of battery/motor to supplement the truck engine, they were looking into compressed air for storage. Potentially cheaper and less maintenance than batteries. Add the electric air compressor and larger tank and it could be a 'plug-in hybrid'.

-ERD50

 

[ERD50]

I just couldnt resist! The vehicle I take to w*rk runs on peanut butter and oatmeal!

Unfortunately, that might not be as good an option as it seems. I heard someone report on a 'Science Friday' podcast, that by the time you account for the losses from the human body converting food to energy, and the losses in our food supply, that it is better for the environment to drive to work than to ride a bike.

I guess it helps if you are vegetarian. You would utilize the vegetation directly rather than through converting it into meat by feeding it to animals. Kind of like eliminating the middle-man, ummm, I mean middle-cow?

-ERD50

 

[UncleHoney]

and what is your backup mode When you get stuck in traffic and waste all your air cooling yourself off

 

[UncleHoney]

Compressed air ain't cheap!

Compressed air is one of the most expensive uses of energy in a manufacturing plant. About eight horsepower of electricity is used to generate one horsepower of compressed air. Calculating the cost of compressed air can help you justify improvements for energy efficiency.

Air Compressor Energy-Saving Tips - MnTAP

 

[justin]

If this air powered car is feasible, it might at least provide one possible scenario as to what life might be like after "peak oil" and all the gasoline is used up (or $50/gallon and hence practically used up). If peak oil plays out like many think it will.

I'd like to see a little more data on the car and the energy cycle and costs to refuel/operate it. But I like the concept.

 

[Sue J]

Speaking of alternative energy sources.....

Here's a story about a guy who was working on using radio waves to kill cancer cells. Along the way he realized that using radio waves he could release oxygen and hydrogen from saltwater and produce a flame.

Article - http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=68227

Video - Video on Demand | wkyc.com

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Along the way he realized that using radio waves he could release oxygen and hydrogen from saltwater and produce a flame.

Bah! I can do the same thing with a 17 year old dishwasher! No radio waves or seawater needed...just ordinary tap water!

Where do I patent this technology?

 

[BigMoneyJim]

Speaking of alternative energy sources.....

Here's a story about a guy who was working on using radio waves to kill cancer cells. Along the way he realized that using radio waves he could release oxygen and hydrogen from saltwater and produce a flame.

Article - http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=68227

Video - Video on Demand | wkyc.com

I must presume that the radio waves are dividing water into Hydrogen and Oxygen and then the fire combines them back into water. It's been a long time since I've been in a chemisty class, but I don't think you'd end up with more energy from the flame than you put in with the radio waves. And you'd have a bunch of salt left over to clean out.

So if you had the power source for the radio wave generator with you then the rest seems a waste of resources and effort. Maybe they want to put the radio generators by the side of the road and heat water as cars pass by? But they say no such thing in the article or video.