[Spridgets] [9issa] Air Powered Car...For Real

David Lieb 72spridget at gmail.com
Mon Dec 7 11:03:25 MST 2009


> By claiming the car runs on "free air," etc. they destroy all credibility
> and endanger their cause, which is a good one.

I have to agree with that sentiment. The producers of that clip did at
least as much harm as good.

IMHO, it is similar to a steam engine without the weight of water or
the necessity of heating it. The on-board compressor is merely a way
of limping home when you "run out of gas" (air is a gas, after all ;).
Presumably this would give us a way to modernize some of the external
combustion technology, which did have some nice points. F'rinstance,
steam engines did not need a transmission, since they had full torque
from 0rpm on up to the limit of the bearings. I don't imagine the
150psi or so from our garage compressors would take it far; presumably
the tanks are storing far more than that. Is a reciprocating engine
really the best way of converting pressure to motion? Perhaps a
Stirling-cycle engine might be better?
David L


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