an air car?

[pyramid_head]

It has probably been discussed in an earlier thread, but look at this miracle that has been developed in India and France; a car that runs on air! Motor development International in France and Tata Motors Of India are already using the technology and will release these cars as early as next year! I'm so jealous.

here's the link; enjoy.

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/659/

[GasSavers_Ryland]

and a fuel cell is just useing split water...
how do you compress enough air to 10,000psi to power your car? remember, it's just another energy storage device, just like a fuel cell car is just an electric car with a fancy "battery" an air car basicly has a steam engine running off a tank of air insted of steam from a boiler.
I wonder if anyone is doing a solar heated steam boiler for a steam powered car...

[Bill in Houston]

Originally Posted by Ryland

I wonder if anyone is doing a solar heated steam boiler for a steam powered car...

Only if they can get some kind of govt agency to pay for it...

[Telco]

Excellent. This would make an excellent commuter, and with a PV system keeping an air compressor station at home topped off with enough capacity to refill the car a half dozen times, no pollution at all. Just retop the tanks every night. You wouldn't need a gasoline car at all then unless you had to drive cross country, and you could rent that.

[CO ZX2]

I found these design specifications for vehicles using compressed air engines. This company, MDI International, supplied engine license to Tata of India.

More vehicle info: http://www.mdi.lu/eng/affiche_eng.php?page=minicats

[pyramid_head]

hey Ryland, check out the pros and cons for the fuel production on a fuel-cell car. it has been posted before, but i can't find other .gov or .org sites that have more detail in the affects of fuel-cell and its massive greenhouse effects when produced. To me that topic is very controversial and i got tired of people's skepticisms and hypocrisies (cough cough suv owners). The air car is just a better alternative overall and would shut them up.

http://www.guajara.com/wiki/en/wikip...20applications
http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage1760.html

[GasSavers_Ryland]

Idon't like fuel cells either, they don'tlast long enough

[Bill in Houston]

Plus it makes a sort of hum/whine sound that kind of drives me crazy after about an hour or two.

[Jim Dunlop]

Without doing any calculations, it takes a lot of energy to compress air. The pollution you save on the road will simply happen at the coal power plant...unless of course you get your power from a nuclear or hydroelectric plant.

[GasSavers_Ryland]

my home air compresser uses alot of electricity just to get up to 100 psi, air cars run off a tank that is 10,000 psi simaler to what a scuba tank is, or compressed welding gas, only much much larger! have you ever noticed trucks that deilver compressed welding gasses have warning lables all over them? even for innert gasses, if you puncure a tank like that it is going to do alot of damage, I think myth busters did something with a cinder block wall and a tank of compressed Co2, that is why every 5 years I am required to have my Co2 tank leak tested.
air cars also have the same kind of problems electric cars do in cold weather, as the radiator in an air car is helping to keep the engine warm (reducing presure takes energy/heat with it, it gets cold) so on humid days your radiator is a block of ice, in cold weather your range is decreased a great deal.