The Engine of the future
 

I take the air engine over any hybrid or electric engine.

One has to wonder what's the catch. Part of it is obviously the cost of the storage for the compressed air and making the infrastructure for it. I wonder what the impact of a ruptured tank would be on the car trajectory?

^
As I understand there is no sorage cost for compressed air - you just need a compresor to "feed" the car, and they are relative small and unexpencive.
Great idea, it is almost perfect for city trafic. I just hope they make the cars a litle more good looking and silent (I got a noisy impretion of the firts carr) and I would like to by one.

another video by Discovery Channel

http://www.exn.ca/dailyplanet/view.asp?date=4/1/2005#


supposedly they will be able to put this engine in your gasoline car in a couple of years.


this is funny...

http://www.runyourcarwithwater.com/

Powering the compressor will be a polluting activity.

ALL these "green" power ideas are stupid and pointless as they all involve some form of "dirty produciton" upstream - whether it be electricity generaiton, plastic produciton etc.

In the end, the net "carbon footprint" will always be the same.

RC45
Im very sure that all the compressors production in the world will be much cleaner than the production of petrol and the carbon emitions. Even if not it will be much cheaper to run the cars on air. And most importantly - finally all the oil billioners will broke and that will be real fun.

Carbon dioxide is not a polutant, nor does it cause global warming, and even if it did, it is not strong enough to make a measurable effect. it would take 5 years of assuming everything else stayed the same to raise C02 in the atmosphere from 384 parts per million to 385 parts per million.... yet, historically, there have been higher PPM of C02 in the atmosphere pre industrial revolution era even!

If you made the arguement that the power for the said polluting batteries were charged by nuclear power, that might be a tad different...

There is also the possibility of the air compressor being powered by compressed air itself, thus having 0 emissions (once compressed air tank is filled the first and only time). The car would then run forever!

Too bad it would sound and go like shit...

Uhh... Theres the cost of the storage tube! It's carbon fiber and their are 3 of them. That the significant cost to which I refered.

Uhmm.. theres this little thing called physics. This would be impossible. It takes energy to create energy. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transfered.

Well, does cause CO2 global warming or not it is a difficult point. I lack of proper sientific knowlege (and provably english knowlege too) to properly disscus about this.
Anyway, Im not the biggest "green party" supporter, but I do think if there is any posibility to preserve the ecology a 0,0001% cleener then we should do it. Neither I care about the ocean level and all that theory that north america and some other places will flood - that isnt very convinsing to me.

The problem with oil as a main fuel is much wider than CO2 emition, it has a lot of economical, political, social and ecological factors. Im talking about some countries getting richer while others are getiing unpayble debts, about some sheikhs spending in cars only more than the anual budget of a "3rd world" country, and about millions of animals perishing every year becouse of tanker sinks. Thiese are some examples.

Not all, but most of that will be gone if some new and cheap power sourse is found. Yes, this "alternative engine" cars are not so cool and comfortable as a range rover (which I love) and nor as quiet as the diesel version ;) , but they more... lets say ecologicaly responsable and more suitable for the city trafic. And I do hope they will be getting better with the time.

It was said there that the price will be less than 15000$ - i dont think that is expencive for a car that never will need a fill up

He did not specify whether that included the tanks and I suspect it doesn't. 3 Carbon fiber tanks alone would be a couple thousand. The doesnt count the engine and the rest of the car. When was the last 15000 dollar car you saw running on anything?

Top speed is also limited to 100 kph.

Ok, compressed air sounds great, but what energy source do we use to get that air compressed? I guess in France that would likely be nuclear so I don't mind it. Atleast the compressed air car is more original than the electric car.

I liked the second engine in the video as it actually exploited the advantages of compressed air rather than being a dumbed down less efficient cylinder-piston set up.

Well I never saw a fuel tank as extra feature in a car. That will be provably the stupidest marketing move ever in the car industry, so I guess it should be included.

Considering the traffic jams I doubt there is a real need for more speed in town.
You provably wont be able to have much fun with one of thouse cars, but they are more about beeng practical rather than fun. And anyway - they are just prototypes, as soon some serious car manufacturer will get the idea the cars will be better. I just hope they get the idea.

They would have to be though. How else would a filler station work? Youd have to sit there at the pump for an hour while it filled the damn thing.


Maybe thats a european thing, but here city cars are useless. There is almost nowhere you can live in the states and not have to go on the highway at some point. 100 kph would get you killed there, and if you have 2 cars then youve defeated the purpose.

The one video said such an "air car" could be filled up in about 3 minutes.

Well, dont know about whole EU but in Germany it would work - there is plenety of people doing daily trips of around 50-75km (or even less) in small cars without the need of getting to the autobans. It would be perfect for them.

Maybe thats a european thing, but here city cars are useless. There is almost nowhere you can live in the states and not have to go on the highway at some point. 100 kph would get you killed there, and if you have 2 cars then youve defeated the purpose.[/quote]


100 kph=62mph Not really deathly slow on the highway. Even if that is the final top speed of such a car and you were on a 70mph interstate you should be okay.

Which means they are swapping tanks. Theres no compressor that could safely fill something like that in that time period at that pressure.

I take it you've never driven on an American highway... Drive the speedlimit and your gonna get flattened. If your not doing 75 in a 70 expect to get mowed down.

I don't feel safe doing 55 in a 55 in this area. Keep in mind mileage on these vehicles also typically does not indicate top speed.
Ill lay down a bet... Youll never see one of these cars manufacturing.. the green lobby will claim conspiracy.. but the reality is just like anything else theres prolly some niggle that causes a fly in the ointment. This isn't utopia, you don't get something for nothing.

the piston-cylinder air car just doesn't stand a chance of creating the same kind of power as any modern car with an internal combustion engine.