The Air Car!

[W1JSB]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmqpGZv0YT4

[N0WVA]

While you would still be using fossile fuels to compress the air, this is a good idea, because of its efficiancy and pollution is easier to control at the power plant.

[W4INF]

Cool. I saw something like that on TV a little while back. I was pretty impressed you could use compressed air to move that much weight, that far.

Who would have thought!

Andrew

[kb3laz]

Thats great but we need the cars to be in production.
Only talking about them will not do a bit of good.

[G4ALA]

Air Car sounds great. An air powered motorbike has already been produced, albeit in vary small volume. It works, in an as yet limited sort of way.

Unlike a motorbike, a car is expected to provide some environmental protection to its passengers. This includes heating for cold climates. Hydrogen, ethanol Gasoline and diesel engines have waste heat. Fuel cell and battery cars have electrical energy. How would an air car provide a heater? An electrical generator, perhaps. How about the much heavier load for air conditioning?

I fear we have a long way to go before an acceptable gasoline car substitute becomes a commercially reality. Still, everything has to start somewhere.

Ever hear about the elastic band car? Well.......................

73

G4ALA

[W1JSB]

I'm really happy that people are responding to this with a sense of optimism, thank you all. We are so often bombarded with bad news and negativity, it is nice to know there are good things going on, and that there are people working hard to solve our problems and better the direction of humanity.

G4ALA, I was wondering about the same thing about generating heat, that certainly would be essential here in New Hampshire!

It seems that other countries are advancing more rapidly in the alternative arena. Maybe that is what it takes to inspire the U.S. to pursue, embrace and support these types of essential advancements.

Take care all,
73 de w1jsb

[ad5mb]

Gee, that's easy.

Compress hot air...

[K8ERV]

G4ALA, I was wondering about the same thing about generating heat, that certainly would be essential here in New Hampshire!




You shouldn't have to worry about gas.From N.H. everything is downhill.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[W1JSB]

You shouldn't have to worry about gas.From N.H. everything is downhill.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

Hey, my aunt and uncle live in Montrose! They built a house out of tires, it is amazing. I love visiting there with the family and going to the Ouray hot springs.

http://www.eyedreamdesign.com/copics/1.jpg
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[N2RJ]

Unlike a motorbike, a car is expected to provide some environmental protection to its passengers. This includes heating for cold climates. Hydrogen, ethanol Gasoline and diesel engines have waste heat. Fuel cell and battery cars have electrical energy. How would an air car provide a heater? An electrical generator, perhaps. How about the much heavier load for air conditioning?

Companies like Toyota have already developed electric substitutes for use in hybrid vehicles.

I don't imagine it would be terribly difficult to put an alternator in an air powered car.

The A/C compressor, while presenting a significant load, will just reduce your capacity per tank as it does with petrol powered autos.

The best thing about this engine is the power to weight ratio. THe air engines are very light, allowing the car to not waste energy lugging around a large engine.

I think for heating and cooling, a heat pump could be used, which is far more efficient than a conventional resistive heater.

[K7JEM]

Companies like Toyota have already developed electric substitutes for use in hybrid vehicles.

I don't imagine it would be terribly difficult to put an alternator in an air powered car.

The A/C compressor, while presenting a significant load, will just reduce your capacity per tank as it does with petrol powered autos.

The best thing about this engine is the power to weight ratio. THe air engines are very light, allowing the car to not waste energy lugging around a large engine.

I think for heating and cooling, a heat pump could be used, which is far more efficient than a conventional resistive heater.

A small air conditioner would probably take 500 watts to run, or nearly a horsepower. Looking at the video of the cars, it seems that the engines being shown may only be a few HP, maybe less than 10.

While the engines may be light, a good part of the weight of the vehicle is taken up with the ultra large air tanks, so the engine weight advantage is lost by the tank weight.

It's an interesting concept for commuter cars. Tanks are probably lighter and cheaper than the same amount of batteries. The trick to making these cars desirable is to put in all of the comforts of a real car. A/C, heating, stereo, power seats and windows, etc. Without those things, you could build a similar sized gasoline powered car that could run on a "lawnmower" type engine, and get 80+ mpg.

Joe

[w2amr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmqpGZv0YT4
Plus you get all that styling too.
I would rather walk. :eek: