Not cheap at all, but looking interesting.. (Imagine doing 0-60 in 4.1 sec with virtually no noise, strange!)

http://www.acpropulsion.com/default.htm
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2003/10/21/cx_dl_1021vow.html
http://radio.weblogs.com/0105910/2003/10/22.html
http://www.commutercars.com/

Cheers,

Alex

they had a beast on top gear a while back, it was 8wd with a 50bhp leccy motor on each wheel, so 400 in all. looked more like an MPV but still did a 4 sec run to 60. funny stuff, but you may as well have a hybrid to charge it up, or solar roof.

I'd really like to build a hybrid (front wheels electric - rear wheels petrol) using only ultra-capacitors as the storage devices. Those being charged from regenerative braking and tricke charged from an additional alternator on the gas engine. So the 'lectric would really only be used to blast off the line or for simple parking lot driving.

Unfortunatley, I just don't know enough about circuits to even get started on such a difficult project.

yeah, and its definitely not locost! not that that matters i guess. The battery technology really is rocket science. Would capacitors provide a stable enough voltage?

It would be quite easy to have a switch on the brake pedal to flip the motor to a generator i guess.

You can make big capacitors with tin foil and cling film, wrapped round something like a rolling pin! used in electric bombs i think.

Tell me more about this rolling pin and tin foil thing - sound like a good ruse hen the missus is making pasties!

well you get a rolling pin, 2 rolls of cling film and two of tin foil. tape a wire onto one end of the rolling pin then sandwich it all up, so that all 4 layers are transfered onto the rolling pin as you roll it so to speak. then put a wire on the other end so it touches the other layer of tin foil. obviously you need to keep both layers of foil and their respective wires separate - that what the cling film does, which needs to be wider so that it is easier to keep separate.

once all the rolls are put on, tape it down, making sure again that the cling film is longer than the foil etc...

so what you end up with is a huge capacitor as the two layers of foil are very close but not touching. not sure on the best way to charge it, ideally to 240V but owt will do.

anyway, if the layers are pierced it will short circuit and either go bang or melt violently.

I guess if you were to add a coctail of rust or plant food (something with oxygen in it anyway) along with something that was quite electronegative (i think thats the one) you should get a nice mess.

having said that why bother with the electric bit when the chemicals will make a mess?

never tried it myself and certainly wouldnt making it a christmas present for the missus, just before she makes the mince pies! but a funny idea certainly.

anyone know how much charge you could store in such a device? an equation or summit? you'd need the volume of foil in each side of it, and the voltage. the insulation of the cling film would determine how much PD it could manage.

for silly reasons i must point out i arent suggesting you actually do this...

quote:

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Originally posted by JoelP
for silly reasons i must point out i arent suggesting you actually do this...

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whats wrong with 4 cotton reels elasitic bands and match sticks very locost ethics

ps every tried a floppy disk bomb very amusing to watch.

[Edited on 23/10/03 by timf]

how does one of those work?!

I remember the great fun that was had in the instrument workshops at lunchtimes.

Take one electrolytic capacitor about 250uF or greater and connect
to a variac with Loooong leads, slowly wind up
past its rated voltage.
Essential wear was ear defenders !!!

Some produced a nice shower of foil
others just went phut not BANG.

ingredients

1 3.5" floppy disk

1 box non saftey matches

1 piece sand paper

some glue

dissasemble disk
put glue on disk surface
pare heads off matches and stick to disk
stick sand paper to inside of disk housing
reassemble disk

insert into disk drive stand well back and turn on pc with long stick

watch as disk spins up.

favorite trick used by hackers to destroy hard disk if pc taken, but need hard disk mounted above floppy drive to work.

I did a years reseach on electric vehicles. We designed a dc electric motor that replaced the wheel hub and gave 80bhp.

Reynard gave use one of Paul Stewarts old F3000 cars to try the motors out on, was going to be a quick machine until the project folded.

We also built and electric go-kart using the same motor mounted centrally. Really went quick and was silent. Got us into trouble in the end (luckily while our Porfessor was driving), nearly killed an unsuspecting tutor walking down the corridor (we ran it inside was more fun).

The clearner did begin to wonder why there were rubber marks on the marble floor!!!

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

I had a good laugh with your post. Quite interesting too anyway. I've been thinking that probably, what is most appealing in electric cars is their zero speed means zero enery waste characteristic (traffic jams). I hate having my car idle and heating up.

Cheers,

Alex

A few makes have had a solution for idling at traffic lights, I think VW started it, the engine stops and restarts automatically.

Didin't catch on as, I guess it caused more wear and put out as much pollution every time it started...

Andrew