Compressed air powered car $2 a tank possible 1,000 mile range

[CECAA850]

Marshall, you gots PM.

[Groomlakearea51]

Marshall, you gots PM.

Nuttin' there at the moment (?)

[Groomlakearea51]

Caveat on filling cylinders.... You can fill a SCUBA tank in about a 30 seconds flat, but the heat will be outrageous and anything above say about 150 degrees can damage the aluminum alloy with very bad results.... The heat exchanger at the refill inlet is going to be a key "player" in the ability to refill the Tata in any reasonable length of time.

[Tom Adams]

I too can tell you about large scale air compressors built for air distribution and not just dive cylinders (no offense Marshall).

The compressors I worked with on a daily basis over two summers as an engineering intern were at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. There were two of them and their role in life was to supply compressed air site wide. At the time I was there the site-wide system was maintained at 2000psi. During the Apollo days, the system was pumped up to 4500psi. The compressors were 5-stage units each driven by custom made 500hp General Electric electric motors. The starting draw for the compressors was over 750 amps (all stages open or unloaded). Once all 5 stages were closed, the continuous running draw was 450 amps. The main 3-phase feeder cables were the size of my forearm and were a direct feed from Mississippi Power. These compressors would run approximately every other day, but I was told that during the Apollo days, they ran every day for over 12 hours. I'll let you do the math on what the energy consumption was to supply the air. On the output side of the compressors was a "farm" of desecant dryers to extract the moisture from the compressed air and these dryers had to be emptied of the collected water while during a "pump-up". We followed extreme and strict guidelines when working with the shop air even at 2000psi and the compressors required constant maintenance. Oh and they were water cooled and still produced some serious heat and required constant vigilance while running.

BTW - there is a reason why pressure vessels are hydrostatically (fluid) tested versus pneumistatically (air) tested for leaks. If there is a leak or failure when pressurized using water, the vessel just leaks or ruptures - generally not a big deal nor a serious safety risk. But with air......KABOOM! Can you spell shrapnel grenade??

Yep that's the kinda cars I want running around me on the highway. NOT!!!

I say use up ALL the oil the Earth has. I mean, where is it written that we have to save it?? The faster we use it up the quicker we'll invent something else.

Tom

[Jeff Matthews]

I say use up ALL the oil the Earth has. I mean, where is it written that we have to save it?? The faster we use it up the quicker we'll invent something else.

Tom

... or maybe the horse will once again have a purpose.

[seti]

They addressed the air kaboom in one of those videos. We are comfortable with gasoline but look at how flamable and explosive gasoline can be? We are riding around with enough gasoline to pack a pretty big boom yet it has been made safe enough.

If we can put people on the moon and send satalites out of our galaxy then why can't we solve these problems? It just takes will and money.

[Jeff Matthews]

.... and money. Ah, the little details.....

[seti]

.... and money. Ah, the little details.....

I hope Tata has money left over after they buy Jaguar.

[CECAA850]

Marshall, you gots PM.

Nuttin' there at the moment (?)

Check the one titled "Location" for a new entry today.

[CECAA850]

Marshall, you gots PM.

Nuttin' there at the moment (?)

Check the one titled "Location" for a new entry today.

Somehow I PM'd myself instead of you[]

[Jeff Matthews]

I agree with every statement except the one that "all the necessary knowledge is there." It is not. There are concepts that seem to provide positive possibilities, but additional findings will be required to make them surpass the economics of gas.

[Islander]

I wish I still had my 1967 Fleetside Chevy. Rebuilt it bumper to bumper and no blasted computer.

It's nice to think back on those simpler vehicles in that simpler time, but their high fuel consumption and need for new sparkplugs and a tuneup every 10k miles is something I'm happy to leave in the past.

As well, here in my city, you can smell a '60s or '70s car when it drives by. They really do release a lot of pollutants into the air.

[DrWho]

I can't think of what knowledge is missing regarding a good electric car. There is totally sufficient battery "knowledge"

You're kidding, right? It really has nothing to do with politics - battery technology simply isn't ready.

In fact, many of the leading researchers make some really interesting claims about how the concept itself really isn't better. The gist is that you still need to generate the electricity that is charging the batteries - and most of that is going to come from oil powered power plants (if the switch to batteries actually happens). The problem is that batteries aren't 100% efficient and have some significant losses in adverse weather conditions - at the same time, the thermal efficiency of the automobile is about the same as the huge power stations...in the end, you're not gaining any efficiency by using batteries...even using a realistic ideal battery model []

Sure, there are alternative methods of creating electricity, but it's not like you can snap your fingers and change the entire power grid...

[Islander]

I can't think of what knowledge is missing regarding a good electric car. There is totally sufficient battery "knowledge"

You're kidding, right? It really has nothing to do with politics - battery technology simply isn't ready.

In fact, many of the leading researchers make some really interesting claims about how the concept itself really isn't better. The gist is that you still need to generate the electricity that is charging the batteries - and most of that is going to come from oil powered power plants (if the switch to batteries actually happens). The problem is that batteries aren't 100% efficient and have some significant losses in adverse weather conditions - at the same time, the thermal efficiency of the automobile is about the same as the huge power stations...in the end, you're not gaining any efficiency by using batteries...even using a realistic ideal battery model

Sure, there are alternative methods of creating electricity, but it's not like you can snap your fingers and change the entire power grid...

Good points, Mike, plus the weight of the batteries is a serious issue. When the weight of the batteries is a significant portion of the weight of the vehicle, it's taking as much or more energy to move the batteries as it does to move the passengers. That's not efficient.

[BLSamuel]

It's not electric. Why does the industry always overlook the obvious, most-efficient alternative?

I must be doing something wrong.... my varmints generate electricity to power my laptop....

[seti]

I wish I still had my 1967 Fleetside Chevy. Rebuilt it bumper to bumper and no blasted computer.

It's nice to think back on those simpler vehicles in that simpler time, but their high fuel consumption and need for new sparkplugs and a tuneup every 10k miles is something I'm happy to leave in the past.

As well, here in my city, you can smell a '60s or '70s car when it drives by. They really do release a lot of pollutants into the air.

I never noticed smell on mine. It was as clean a running rebuilt 400 small block with as much edlebrock as you could put on it. There was also all new headers dual exhaust and new mufflers. I didn't mind the 10K tune ups as the upside was lack of electronic everything. You are right of course once you develop a leak it will get that smell and at so me point all chevys do this.

[BLSamuel]

So, I'd say it was something QUITE radically different than simply will or availability of money that keeps progress from happening.

Maybe not.... Could it be that the people with the money have the will to keep making more money - maintain the status quo ... we all just don't yet have enough will to quit paying it to them and making any real progress.

[Islander]

I wish I still had my 1967 Fleetside Chevy. Rebuilt it bumper to bumper and no blasted computer.

It's nice to think back on those simpler vehicles in that simpler time, but their high fuel consumption and need for new sparkplugs and a tuneup every 10k miles is something I'm happy to leave in the past.

As well, here in my city, you can smell a '60s or '70s car when it drives by. They really do release a lot of pollutants into the air.

I never noticed smell on mine. It was as clean a running rebuilt 400 small block with as much edlebrock as you could put on it. There was also all new headers dual exhaust and new mufflers. I didn't mind the 10K tune ups as the upside was lack of electronic everything. You are right of course once you develop a leak it will get that smell and at so me point all chevys do this.

Back in the day, we were accustomed to the smell of car exhaust and barely noticed it. The newer cars don't smell, though, so when one of the old ones drives by, there's a sort of nostalgic odour that's easy to recognize.

[DrWho]

Well at least the old cars don't smell like E85...that stuff makes me wanna puke.

[pauln]

What we really need is a screen that is variably semipermiable to gravitons.

Then by afixing it to the rear of the car, the car could be driven by just letting it fall forward - the mass of the car would no longer be a concern, as all unhindered bodies fall at the same rate of speed. Screens on the side of the car would be used for turning, one on the front for braking.

A screen on the top would provide downforce for racing!

Placing various extra screens and a fancy control system would allow lowriders to continue to slant, hop, tilt, and jump their cars...

Bonus! When you tailgate some slowbie, your screen blocks his gravitons, too - makes him speed up automatically!

Putting the screen on the bottom of the car would allow it to fly, but we aren't really ready for that. Yet. Maybe just let them hover a foot off the ground for starters...

[update!] Never mind, looks like we can run our cars with water!

http://www.runyourcarwithwater.com/