Posted on 04/29/2016 10:51:22 AM PDT by DJ Taylor
No
It’ll also grow hair, reduce under-the-eye bags, whiten teeth and help you lose 30lbs.
“but does the author know anything about which he writes?”
Doesn’t sound like it.
Seems this is a hybrid akin to a diesel electric locomotive. Less moving drive-train parts...but energy conversion losses. Not sure what is so revolutionary about this one...and the author does nothing to explain how the valves are eliminated.
“This is not a new idea. At least 40 years old”
I have a variation on my own drawing board. Normally if I’m thinking something up, it has already been done.
Also consider this: they gave a lyrical, inspiring name to their invention, but it's in English.
Typically, Israelis give their big projects Hebrew names, that come out in English like "Kippat Barzel" or "Tzuk Eitan." When translated into English, they don't sound so lyrical ("Iron Dome" and "Cast Lead").
The more I read about this, the more I'm thinking "fundraising project."
Yeah, it’s pretty hard to have an idea that’s (a) a good idea, and (b) hasn’t already been thought of.
Tell us more about Maya...
Eastern European, I'm thinking. Maybe Russian, or second-generation Russian immigrant parents.
“So, ah, a lawnmower engine pushing a generator? That better be one BIG piston because the power needed to push a car around will require a pretty damn heavy gen.”
Either the author really doesn’t understand IC engines, or he’s a very poor author attempting to describe what makes this idea/concept so different or unique. Wonder if it’s just a very scaled down version of a diesel electric locomotive, but using a gasoline engine.
Total fakery. Look at that and think about how it might turn a wheel. What is the 90 degree fitting floating in air?
Plus there is the red flag of an extra step in energy conversion. The engine converts fuel to motion, converts the motion to electrical energy, then converts it back to motion to drive the wheels.
That’s why its described as a “new take” on internal combustion engines.
(IIRC) The Top Gear guys did a stunt where they just put a gasoline powered generator in the back of an electric car and used it to power everything without a lot of batteries. Got good mileage up to the point where the exhaust from the generator nearly killed them.
That’s basically what a hybrid is—a small gas engine that continuously recharges an electric car as it’s running.
Yes, you’re correct. I guess the part about new infrastructure left me thinking they were implying that it replaced the IC engine.
That actually can work out, because you gain back more from running the engine under precisely optimum speed and power conditions for every load, using sensors and computers to make small adjustments to engine timing.
The advantage diminishes for smaller engines. For big engines, like on locomotives, it works out well. That's why Diesel-electric locomotives have been the norm for more than fifty years.
They are actually claiming the "optimal operating point" advantage in some of the stories that have been written about their engine.
I'm thinking "scam," or - more charitably - an outlet for wealthy wishful thinkers who lack a high degree of technical knowledge.
Why would this one be an exception?
Actually the RX-9 is in the works with an 16x wankel engine
http://www.motoring.com.au/mazda-rotary-details-firm-46719/
The Tucker automobile, for one.
Wankels worked, but they were assailed because they were not as intuitive as reciprocating engines, and quickly lost popularity because few people understood them.
"Where are you going to get it worked on if you have a problem?" Is a serious enough question to keep something from gaining traction.
To save a little time, their engine is a horizontally mounted single cylinder (lawnmower engine) that turns an electrical generator, the current from which runs everything.
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