May 19, 2007
Too good to be true?
How about a car that runs on compressed air?
I'm not quite sure what to make of this; Robert A. Heinlein coined the acronym "TANSTAAFL," which means There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch, which might also serve as a paraphrase for the Law of Thermodynamics.
Not being an engineer, I can't say if it's feasible or not, but the site sure does look legit.
Business Week ran an article on the company behind the aircar, and the stats sound impressive.
[T]he first commercial compressed air car is on the verge of production and beginning to attract a lot of attention, and with a recently signed partnership with Tata, India's largest automotive manufacturer, the prospects of very cost-effective mass production are now a distinct possibility.
[...]
[I]t is incredibly cost-efficient to run – according to the designers, it costs less than one Euro per 100Km (about a tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of motorists drive at less than 60Km. The car has a top speed of 68 mph.
Refilling the car will, once the market develops, take place at adapted petrol stations to administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and at a cost of approximately 1.5 Euros, the car will be ready to go another 200-300 kilometres.
As a viable alternative, the car carries a small compressor which can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the tank in 3-4 hours.
[...]
How does it work?
90m3 of compressed air is stored in fibre tanks. The expansion of this air pushes the pistons and creates movement. The atmospheric temperature is used to re-heat the engine and increase the road coverage. The air conditioning system makes use of the expelled cold air. Due to the absence of combustion and the fact there is no pollution, [an] oil change is only necessary every 31,000 miles.
If this technology works, the oil-producing nations should be getting pretty nervous about their long-term prospects -- and we can finally tell the Middle East, with it's Petro-Sheiks and corrupt royal families, to pound sand.
Which is a very good think, wouldn't you say?
Posted by Mike Lief at May 19, 2007 03:58 PM
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Comments
This sounds like a way to store energy - "connecting it to the mains" just means the energy is produced somewhere else - maybe by nuke?
And yes, telling our freinds the Saudi's to pound sand is a very good and long overdue thing.
Posted by: andrewdb at May 20, 2007 03:56 AM
This could be the answer to save our mother earth. We know to a certainty however that big oil will conspire to destroy this heavenly invention. Big oil would choke our trees, poison our soul and invade our bodies with their toxic chemicals just to line its pockets with blood money. Oil is the life blood of corporate evil and the financial engine of radical Christians and Muslims. Save our mother earth and rally behind this incredible invention!
Posted by: Brad at May 25, 2007 07:12 PM