Wind powered car

[mm]

No need. If it works, we'll see it on the news.

[mm]

It takes more force to turn a generator with no load. Much easier when there is a load.

Not theory. Real experience with generators from origianal crank phones. Try it.

I haven't heard anything since they stopped being in the news.

[Murray Peterson]

[e-mail] wrote in news:kbaq12pqdsp8uaol6rsg6tc24aa70i26al@

4ax.com:

No

Which is why you should immediately look for the fatal flaw in the concept.

Adding a windmill to a car will *dramatically* increase the air resistance, which will require that much more electrical power to drive the car. Since a windmill is (much) less than 100% efficient at extracting energy from the wind, you will never gain as much power as you have lost.

Better idea -- put a sail on your car, and learn to drive at speeds slower than the prevailing wind. Of course, tacking on public roads could lead to some interesting conversations with the patrol officer :-)

[Michael Daly]

Before you get too ambitious, calculate the energy that you could reasonably get from a wind generator while parked and then compare that to the energy that a typical car requires.

A local politician around here were talking about switching everyone to electric cars. I did the calculations to show that they would have to at least double the total generated electric power on the grid to recharge the cars. Given the annual brownouts, it ain't likely that this same politicians will spring for all the new nukes required. Electric bicycles would be possible...

Mike

[mm]

You don't really need a windmill. You can use a very big U-shaped tube, that swivels in the middle. If the wind is from your back and you want to go forwards, keep the tube U-shapped, and the wind will come in, be reversed in direction by the tube, blow backwards and propel your car forwards.

Keep the bottom of the tube pointing back and swivel the top so that it always points to the direction the wind is coming from.

If you want to go backwards, swivel the bottom of the tube to point towards the front of the car.

This only takes about 3 major parts, along with some servo motors and connections to the car's computer.

Pat. Pend. or I wouldn't be able to describe it here.

Called tacking. Hence the expression, "take a different tack" which some scramble into "take a different tact"! As if it has to do with different ways of being tactful.

[mm]

That's ok. If the car is going 50mph, and the windmill generates enough to propel it at 40 mph, 40 is plenty.

If 40 isn't enough, if you want to go 60, for example, just go 75 and you'll have enough energy to go 60.

[mm]

22% is less than I thought, but it doesn't matter. If you want to go 60 mph, just go 300 and then you'll have more than enough energy to go

[Flyingmonk]

LOLz

[Jim]

Instead of a windmill how about a RAT (ram air turbine) Military aircraft have used these for years. Perhaps one could be engineered to provide charging while the car is in motion.

Ideally a 100% offset. But a cost effective extension of range would still be a worthy consideration.

[Jeff Wisnia]

Yes, don't give up your day job...

Jeff

[Ross Mac]

[Wes/MO]

Hi Joseph - You certainly have the right intentions - trying for a natural energy source - but I agree entirely with the previous post - you'd be needing to 'push' in order to get a 'push' so to speak. - Wes/MO

[Leif Erikson]

I too have thought of the feasibility of utilizing the forward motion of a vehicle to generate electrical energy via the flow of air through a turbine.

[marson]

How about hooking the generator to your rear wheels? Then power the front wheels with electric! We'll beat those oil companies yet.

[Neill Massello]

But unstepping the mast every time you go into a parking garage will be a bitch.

[Ross Mac]

[hallerb]

actually some vehicles to regernative braking, slowing engages a fly wheel that spins up, rather than braking by using calipers and pads, whoase waste energy is heat/

the feds had a dumb idea, put windmills along roads, cars passing by would make the mills spin generating power.

which unfortunately would slow the vehicles, and be a hazard.

the idea died before they spent a gazillion dollars trying it out

[Harry K]

.....Ross

Nope. The drag effect would be the same as hanging the fans out in the slipstream. You would in effect be blocking off the normal air flow.

Harry K

[Harry K]

Nope. One word DRAG

Harry K

[mm]

Not if you connect it to the convertible top mechanism.