John,
The BBC article mentions that the 300-litre tank is underneath the vehicle.
A 300-L volume is not all that great, anyway. Take a car with a wheel base
of 2550 mm and a tread of 1470 mm, so let's say we limit the foot print of
the tank to 2000 x 1000 mm. This would make the tank 150 mm thick and is
not all that unreasonable.
As for power, I'm in the nuclear energy business so that's a "no brainer."
Build nuclear power plants (away from the cities) and distribute the
electricity over the power grid. Use the electricity to power the
compressors.
Nobody has (yet) mentioned one really neat feature of this method of
propulsion: equip each car with a serious, heavy duty "bicycle pump" and
you'll never be stranded when you run out of "fuel." ;-)
On a more serious note, approaches like this (air "powered" cars) could, in
principle, be ONE solution to an increased pollution problem. This
approach, at least in principle, is better than battery-powered electric
cars in that, at low temperatures, the air powered cars would maintain their
power better, while the efficiency of a lead-acid battery drops. At 0 C,
the pressure in the pressurized tanks would be (273/298)*100% = 91% of that
at 25 C. At -40, the pressure would be 78% of that at 25 C. I don't think
that lead-acid batteries can match that. Mind you, with air-powered cars,
you would also forego the use of the waste heat from the internal combustion
engine and rides in air-powered cars in Manitoba or North Dakota would be on
the chilly side. But in Johannesbug? Why not?
Chuck Vandergraaf
-----Original Message-----
From: John J. Black [mailto:helejohn@neteze.com]
Sent: Thursday November 02, 2000 9:16 AM
To: Harald Sakshaug; morgans@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: New Car
Hi Guys
Plus where exactly would you hide this 300 liter gas tank?? It also takes a
serious compressor to make 300 bar and these have to be powered by ????
Regards
John J Black
Waterloo Drivetrain Systems
http://www.waterloo-dtr.com
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-morgans@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-morgans@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Harald Sakshaug
Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2000 5:28 AM
To: morgans@autox.team.net
Subject: SV: New Car
I predict this car will make a raise in unemployment for gas stations and
oil industry...
Maybe this is why it is made in Africa, since there is little struggling
with economical differences in interrests... I would think large oil
companies fear this vehicle, if it gets cheap and available....
H.SaX
-----Opprinnelig melding-----
Fra: jimg2@webtv.net [mailto:jimg2@webtv.net]
Sendt: 2. november 2000 13:29
Til: autojumble@autox.team.net; morgans@autox.team.net;
mgb-v8@autox.team.net
Emne: New Car
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