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Electric Car? How about a Compressed Air Car?
The recent discussion of the merits of various electric cars. I'd
summarize the current state of the art as one of interesting technologial developments, but an unsolved basic problem: How to store an adequate amount of the source of motive power in a manageable package. Batteries aren't there yet - and may never be. NEVs are a joke, and the 3-wheel "motorcycle" types are marginal at best. Now it appears that someone has come up with the idea of running a vehicle on compressed air. Check this out: http://www.theaircar.com/ There is nothing novel about the technology - air motors have been around for years. They are often used where sources of ignition are a hazard. The only thing new is the idea of combining an air motor and a source of supply in a compact vehicle. The advantages would appear to be adequate power and range for urban/suburban use - and zero pollution (not counting the pollution generated in the process of compressing the air in the first place). Such vehicles could be "recharged" by compressors overnight - when surplus electric power is available. Downsides? High pressure compressors are expensive, and require lots of power to operate. Not to mention the fact that any high pressure tank is a potential bomb. OTOH such tanks are in common use, such as SCUBA tanks and paintball tanks - found everywhere. Comments? David Johnson |
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