Electric Vehicles

[Gary]

A problem with conventional electric vehicles is that people are easily misled. A report may say the car will go up to 60 mph and up to 60 miles. A reasonable person might assume that they could go almost 60mph for almost 60 miles. However, the numbers for range and speed are usually extremes of oposite conditions.<p>That is, the car may go 60mph, but it might only have a few miles range at that speed, as it is hard on the batteries to lose all their energy in say half an hour or less, and then get recharged.<p>The extreme of range can often be had by running a vehicle at a very slow speed for a little while, stopping and letting the batteries recover a little and then driving it again for a little while over a period of days.

[bwts]

I think you r all misunderstanding the air car. The drive force is NOT generated by pneumatic pressure but by combustion of the air. This is a method already used in Formula one car to give an instant acceleration an start up. The idea has just been expanded on.<p>B)

[Ron H]

Air is not combustible, AFAIK. Here's a quote from their web page at http://www.theaircar.com/howitworks.html<p>"The air that leaves the exhaust pipe is even cleaner than the air that entered, now that prior to the air injection phase the air is filtered. The air conditioning system makes use of the expelled cold air. Due to the absence of combustion the oil change is done rarely, every 50.000 km."<p>This doesn't mean I think that it works. <p>Ron<p>[ February 18, 2003: Message edited by: RonH ]</p>

[chessman]

I saw a demo at the University of Washington about a new economy-safe car.<p>The fuel is hydrogen, which is burned in small chambers. The flames in the chambers are next to a "new, high-tech" solar cell, giving enough energy to turn charge the battery cell. That cell is also giving off energy to drive the main motors.<p>The idea is not to eliminate the charge process, but increase the MTBC (mean time between charge).

[hlreed]

Second law of thermodynamics. Look it up.

[bwts]

My apologies its not a combustion engine. Thermodynamics isnt my ting but in principle it still looks good to me. Cooled pressurised air released into a hot environment will expand. But yeah it might not expand that much <p>B)

[Bernius1]

One guy used a block of ice to power a type of ice-skimming sail-plane. But the math remains:
A car travelling 50mph, burning 25mpg, exerting 25hp (33,000 ft-lbs/min./h.p.) will expend 49,500,000 ft-lbs per hour,from 2-gal's of gas. That means that an 8-lb. gallon of gas yields 27,750,000 ft-lbs to the street. Find another power source AS DENSE, & you've got a solution (not like salt & water.). I always thought a truck spring-brake chamber could provide boost/startup energy,but the ft-lbs just ain't there. The answer is chemical,not electrical or mechanical.