Forget biofuel, try a car that runs on air

Times Online ^ | 2/20/08 | Rhys Blakely

[Cold Heat]

Air compressors use a lot of power. Anyone who owns a large one knows this, and they take a while to compress enough air at a high enough psi to operate a pneumatic motor for a extended period of time. They are not very efficient

I'd like to see the power numbers broken down on this toy, and on something actually usable.

[Dasaji]

This makes me wonder if my idea when I was 8 years old of just putting a big fan outside the window of the car I was in and letting the force of the wind from the traveling car create enough power to run the car..........

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I had that SAME idea - lol!

[sheana]

bump for hubby to look at later ;)

[Creeping Incrementalism]

I never saw that episode of Mythbusters, but I have shot compressed gas tanks before, and their power is impressive. I shot a half-empty butane can (the small kind for backpacking stoves) at 50 yards with a 223, and it flew 35 yards (measured with a laser rangefinder) from the force of the compressed gas exiting. There was no explosion. I shot another one and it spun in circles on the ground at a fairly dizzying rate.

And a few notes on pressure (I got these from analyses of nuclear weapon effects):

1 PSI overpressure will break windows
20 PSI overpressure will knock down most buildings

Would you want a 4000 PSI tank sheared in half by another vehicle, so that all the force is released at once?

[Ignatz]

“Welcome to ‘Absolutions’, the Compressed Air Credit store. How many Compressed Air credits would you like today?”

[Old Professer]

An electrolyzer using water?

Engine rattles like a diesel.

[Old Professer]

It was a propane tank they were working with at less than 250PSI

[DoughtyOne]

Eight minute video on the Air Car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmqpGZv0YT4