Car Of The Future

[hotatlboi]

car of the future maybe, but not one I'll be buying. the top speed is 68mph and it's incredibly ugly. no thanks

 

[thermodynamics]

Yeowtch. Composite air tanks. That really makes me cringe. It's an air tank, and it's going to be subject to fatigue loads (cyclic stresses from changing internal pressure). Fatigue loads with composites is kinda risky, because of the reason below.

The problem with composites is that all cracks/defects in them are not stable. Composites have no mechanism to strain harden at all--only metals can do that. What it means is if there's any defect, it will slowly grow and grow until failure is catastrophic. Metals will give you some warning by necking/deforming if they're about to fail. Metals, too, will fail, but not as catastrophic as composites do.

 

[OptimalOptimus]

WOW.... I never thought by posting this, it would generate such negative responces. SCIENCE is FACT. This car runs on compressed air. Throught it's running, it powers an altnator that generates electricty that powers a compressor that REFILLS the air tank.

There for it would be a RENEWABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY !

ZERO emmisions is because all the air that's taken in & let out is passed throught Airfilters wich makes it cleaner then it starts with.

ALSO you could use Green power stations such as solor arays to power these compressed air pump stations. SO it would be a Totally green system.

COME ON JUBers EVOLVE !

 

[trawler69]

WOW.... I never thought by posting this, it would generate such negative responces. SCIENCE is FACT. This car runs on compressed air. Throught it's running, it powers an altnator that generates electricty that powers a compressor that REFILLS the air tank.

There for it would be a RENEWABLE SOURCE OF ENERGY !

Um no the "alternator" serves to generate electricity for auxilliary stuff, keep battery charged. It can act as a motor to park the vehicle and as a motor running from utility power, to run the engine as a compressor.

Where do you guys get your info from?
Top speed is 120-130mph.
0-60 in 4secs
250 miles (400 km) on a single charge of its lithium ion batteries

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Roadster

I think he is referring to the air powered car! The Tesla is sweet.

 

[Corny]

if you don't want to discuss a certain topic, don't start a thread about it. if other posters disagree with you try to find different arguments or just ignore them if you believe they are not worth it. there is no need to start fighting or calling someone names.
furthermore, threads don't "belong" you just because you started them. especially if many other people put some work in replies to the thread. we might delete threads on request that contain personal or sensitive data, but all this is not the case here. so after some cleaning up this thread is back, and this time please stay civil and on topic

 

[OptimalOptimus]

Funny i this thread was deleted a few days ago, and reappears today. When i started this thread i didn't think it would start an arguement. i dont' care. who's right or who's wrong about the car. the point is. An air motor is awesome !

like new technology it's hard to understanc how it fully works. but we will sumday i hope.

 

[trawler69]

Yeah thanks Corny it was an interesting thread and I was trying to be constructive. I missed the incident that caused its demise. I agree air motors are awesome, they can deliver amazing power and great torque in a small size, just one reason why they are used in air tools. With this new double or triple expansion engine it will make best use of the power stored in the air. My concern is just one of safety. Even though the tanks are designed to rip giving a bigger area to release the power over it also enables it to be released more quickly. I was once passed by a mobile crane just as one of its tires blew out. I was stationary and it really rocked the truck I was driving and that was just 6 bar. The thought of 50 times the power, assuming a similar volume makes me think Orbit time.

 

[winterknight]

WOW.... I never thought by posting this, it would generate such negative responces. SCIENCE is FACT. This car runs on compressed air. Throught it's running, it powers an altnator that generates electricty that powers a compressor that REFILLS the air tank.

For it to work exactly as you have described here would violate the second law of thermodynamics, and that IS science.

Remember: you can't win, you can't break even, and you can't leave the game.

 

[Pathicus]

^^Thanks for that informative post Noelie!

I read about the Telsa car quite some time ago, but it is good to hear that it is living up to expectations in real life. As you pointed out marketing is playing a key role in the Telsa project. Rather than designing a car that compromises on all fronts in order to cut costs, these guys have developed a car that people aspire to own. Many celebrities and wealthy individuals have placed orders for it, which as a result has enhanced the luxury credentials. Once the brand is more established and some costs have been recouped more affordable product lines will be introduced (if I remember the newspaper article correctly).

If I may go on a quick tangent here (sorry): In my opinion start-up companies such as Telsa Motors or Visionary Vehicles may one day pose growing threats to the old players in the automotive industry, as these new companies are not held back legacy costs (long term contracts with suppliers and huge prior investments in technological innovation). This problem seems to give SME's a competitive advantage in the development of new concepts.

Also, it is notable that many of these new products are developed in the US. From an EU perspective I find this rather worrying. European investment culture seems too risk averse for my liking. No doubt there is knowledge, but looking at national R&D statistics and comparing these with the US or Japan we are far behind.

European countries have long been champions of alternative energy generation (e.g. Germany, Denmark,...). However some observers predict that, in light of growing investment, the US will become the top player in the not too distant future... Don't get me wrong: If the US can innovate better, fine. I just feel we Europeans have a lot of competence in the automotive sector (and others). We should be able to be at the forefront of these developments, but alas we trail behind.

Brussels should really sit down and facilitate patent procedures and lower patent costs across the Union, stimulate more R&D and adopt measures to create a more risk-accepting corporate culture. Why can't we have a European Telsa

 

[SuperQueer]

this is a great idea - thinking for the most part - i drive short distances.

i think i read about "air-cabs" replacing traditional cabs in India.