JTM³ Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Because I'm obsessed with finding an alternative to gasoline...not because I'm an ecofreak, but you can guess why! Besides, a little thinking couldn't hurt Topic: Alternate power plants/engines for cars. Subcategories: Electric Ethanol/E85 Hydrogen Magnetic Other Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTM³ Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 Ok, under the sub-group Magnetic. Hmm, I haven't thought of a power source (), but I was thinking of utilizing the concept that drives maglev trains somehow... I was just thinking: What about two magnetic rings, opposite poles so they repel each other, inside each other, composing the wheels. The power plant would of course be where engines normally are. Hmm, the only problem with that would be that they would have to be electro magnets so you could turn them on and off, otherwise they would be constantly repelling each other and you couldn't control it. (^^Illustrates the basic idea of this thread.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 What you described is basically what an electric engine is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket Man Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 magnetic? i can see why you put it in italics. alternative engine... well theres the 'quasiturbine' it's a rotary engine, and its expected to do what the wankel does but better. apparantly it can be used with almost any fuel if its built right. (pneumatic inclusive) jtm, look up "plasmagnetic levitation" on wikipedia or else where, sure its omnidirectional but you dont need tyres. as for alternate energy sources im all for solar. also, hydrogen peroxide should be easier to get. commuting on a bell jetpack would be awesome, however impractical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTM³ Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 What you described is basically what an electric engine is. Oh...crap.. jtm, look up "plasmagnetic levitation" on wikipedia or else where, sure its omnidirectional but you dont need tyres. Yeah, heard of it...is that even practical? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YT2095 Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 in a 3x3 metre patch of land I grew wheat. after taking all the heads off, I let the straw go bone dry and set fire to it, returning the potash back to the soil (and anihilating some weeds and hard work too). the heat was so intense you couldn`t get within 10 metres of it! and the whole event lasted about 15-20 seconds. there had to have been a good few megawatts of energy released during that time! it cost Nothing either. so if there`s a way to "Tap" into that energy, I recon a 3x3 patch would carry a loaded family car a few miles effortlesly. not only that but it looks nice when it grows and you get to eat (or brew) the good bits too ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTM³ Posted August 15, 2006 Author Share Posted August 15, 2006 What if you placed something next to it that could be charged by the heat? Also, even if my first idea is the basis of an electric engine, could the same concept still be used in my idea? I was thinking of having a power source where normal engines are today that charge the electro-magnets and repel each other, causing the car to move---hopefully....if my phyics right off the top of my head is right.....I never took a "pure" phyiscs in high school...too much for my head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted August 16, 2006 Share Posted August 16, 2006 YT, there is a propulsion system that can harness that kind of heat very easily: the steam engine. JTM, what's the power plant? Just a big battery? By the way, the most basic electric engine you can build consists of two electromagnets, one than can rotate freely and the other wrapped around the first, with one pole on each side. You run current through both, and the two magnets will allign, north to south. The trick then is to rig it so when they become alligned in one direction, the current and therefore the polarity of one of the magnets reverses direction, causing it it to allign the other way. The result is that the inner magnet spins continuously, thus translating electrical current into mechanical motion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTM³ Posted August 16, 2006 Author Share Posted August 16, 2006 JTM, what's the power plant? Just a big battery? Like I said, I haven't figured that out yet And is that plasmagnetic levitation stuff ever going to be viable, is it even scientifically sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Demosthenes- Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 "Why isn't solar practical" -"We'd need millions of acres of area exposed to the sun" "So where exactly is the area that is not exposed to the sun?" Most of the energy we use (such as petroleum) comes from the sun in some way, doesn't it (sun to plant to peat to oil, etc)? Why not go to the source? Replace gasoline... why use cars? Public transportation (solar powered ) coupled with the reintroduction to the arcaic form of transportation: "walking" would seem to fix everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Most areas in the U.S. are completely dependant on cars. However, if you had as much clean, renewable energy as you wanted, you could also have as many electric cars as you wanted. However, if you covered the rooftop of every building in the country with 100% efficient solar panels, that still wouldn't be close to enough. You would need tens of thousands of square miles of solar panels beyond that. It may come to that one day, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Demosthenes- Posted August 19, 2006 Share Posted August 19, 2006 Most areas in the U.S. are completely dependant on cars. However, if you had as much clean, renewable energy as you wanted, you could also have as many electric cars as you wanted. However, if you covered the rooftop of every building in the country with 100% efficient solar panels, that still wouldn't be close to enough. You would need tens of thousands of square miles of solar panels beyond that.[/i'] It may come to that one day, though. Doesn't all of our energy come from the sun anyway? Our gasoline from the sun to plant and animal tissue to peat to oil to gas. Doesn't that make the material we currently use less efficient than gathering energy from the sun itself, or are plants that much more efficient at absorbing sunlight for energy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padren Posted August 19, 2006 Share Posted August 19, 2006 What about all these deep sea vents? It seems to me, you have areas that are very hot and very cold quite close to each other on the sea floor, which is perfect for extracting energy. Plus, a sea floor geothermal rig could easily be relocated with ballast tanks if an area becomes unstable, whereas an onland site needs both deep drilling and can't be "floated" to a new location. In fact, the whole rig could produce hydrogen right there, and float large tanks up on tethers for transfer to transport tankers. Whether its a massive station with steam turbines and generators or a very small scale effecient sterling engine based rig I would expect it to be pretty practical, and could be heavily automated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphus Posted August 19, 2006 Share Posted August 19, 2006 Doesn't all of our energy come from the sun anyway? Our gasoline from the sun to plant and animal tissue to peat to oil to gas. Doesn't that make the material we currently use less efficient than gathering energy from the sun itself, or are plants that much more efficient at absorbing sunlight for energy? Well, sort of. A hydroelectric dam indirectly gets its power from water evaporating. And its true that you get a lot less power than it took for the sun to evaporate the water. On the other hand, the "collector" is millions of square miles of oceans, and its easier to build a turbine than a million square mile solar panel... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Demosthenes- Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Well, sort of. A hydroelectric dam indirectly gets its power from water evaporating. And its true that you get a lot less power than it took for the sun to evaporate the water. On the other hand, the "collector" is millions of square miles of oceans, and its easier to build a turbine than a million square mile solar panel... Ah, are solar panals more expensive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abskebabs Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Responding to the OP: This is something I've mentioned before, but I'll mention again as I think it should be pursued. It would be placed in the category of other and is THERMAL DEPOLYMERIZATION. I'm optimistic about it as it could help with the disposal of plastic waste, and could also be used to provide a renewable source of petroleum by putting biomass theough the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTM³ Posted August 20, 2006 Author Share Posted August 20, 2006 Interesting, but I thought scientists were against fossil fuels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abskebabs Posted August 20, 2006 Share Posted August 20, 2006 Technically its not a fossil fuel as the biomass is not producing fuel that has been locked up under the Earth for million years. To put it simply were not putting anything up there that wasn't there before by pursuing thermal depolymerisation(unless you're wiping all crops and plants that were used to produce this initial biomass). The problem is that we are increasing the amount of carbon dioxide by buring fossil fuels which are like carbon deposits, and in the process altering our climate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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