Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotbob
I thought the ICE was to go faster than 35MPH... it heats the air so it will decompress with more force or something?
|
I think you're right, there ... but it had something to do with greater distance too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotbob
Anyway... agreed about all the stuff you said about using energy to compress the air. But, one of the shows says it takes about 3 mins to fill the tank at a station which will cost about $2 in electric power... and that will bring you 800 miles. Seems like it still will create less polution. And, if those filling stations use solar/wind to run the compressors then it would truly be 100% zero pollution. Also 100% renewable.
|
I'll point out that cost of electrical power and its associated generation emissions (this topic needs easier to spell words) aren't necessarily related. Most power generation in the U.S. is coal, I believe, and while it's cheap, it sure ain't clean.
Solar power for the Air stations would be an excellent idea in some places (I've developed a slowly growing skepticism of wind power, thanks to other discussions here), but I think there'd always have to be a grid connection at least as a back up.
I'm pretty interested in the thermionic drive concept. These
folks in Gibraltar have come up with a way to convert heat directly to electricity, at about an 80% of ideal efficiency, and it doesn't seem to matter what method you use, so long as it makes heat. They've apparently already taken out a patent on using their chips to power a car, but there hasn't been any significant movement on them for quite some time.