air powered car

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...-hybrid-france

In article
,
pig brother wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...r-hybrid-franc
e

Yet more balonium-based technology!

--
Remove _'s from email address to talk to me.

Orval Fairbairn wrote:
In article
,
pig brother wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...r-hybrid-franc
e

Yet more balonium-based technology!


Well, I believe compressed air vehicles have been used in special
environments like coalmines where there is a risk of explosions.
Wikipedia has info. The main problem is the inefficiency which arises
from the heat lost in the compression and expansion cycle.

T.

In article ,
Tom P wrote:

Orval Fairbairn wrote:
In article
,
pig brother wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...-car-hybrid-fr
anc
e

Yet more balonium-based technology!


Well, I believe compressed air vehicles have been used in special
environments like coalmines where there is a risk of explosions.
Wikipedia has info. The main problem is the inefficiency which arises
from the heat lost in the compression and expansion cycle.

T.

.... and the poor energy density of the compressed air. The only way they
would work is if they all had a LONG air hose connected to them!

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Remove _'s from email address to talk to me.

"Tom P" wrote in message
...
Orval Fairbairn wrote:
In article
,
pig brother wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...r-hybrid-franc
e

Yet more balonium-based technology!


Well, I believe compressed air vehicles have been used in special
environments like coalmines where there is a risk of explosions.

Not just in special environments. Several French cities had compresssed air
tram systems in the late 19th / early 20th century. They were tested in
Britain, but rejected on the grounds of operating costs. The French systems
were later electrified.

Wikipedia has info. The main problem is the inefficiency which arises from
the heat lost in the compression and expansion cycle.

Stored steam was a more satisfactory system for fireless locomotives, but
still not that good. However, the reservoirs for both compressed air
locomotives and stored steam locomotives were a lot bigger than you could
fit into a car.

Colin Bignell

On Fri, 15 May 2009 08:36:30 +0100, "nightjar" cpb@insert my surname
here.me.uk wrote:

Several French cities had compresssed air
tram systems in the late 19th / early 20th century. They were tested in
Britain, but rejected on the grounds of operating costs. The French systems
were later electrified.

Brunel tried it on the Broad Gauge, however just because it didnt work
with leather and tallow doesnt mean it cannot work now or in the
future.
--
Mike

On Fri, 15 May 2009 08:47:15 +0100, "Mike"
wrote:

On Fri, 15 May 2009 08:36:30 +0100, "nightjar" cpb@insert my surname
here.me.uk wrote:

Several French cities had compresssed air
tram systems in the late 19th / early 20th century. They were tested in
Britain, but rejected on the grounds of operating costs. The French systems
were later electrified.

Brunel tried it on the Broad Gauge, however just because it didnt work
with leather and tallow doesnt mean it cannot work now or in the
future.

Makin a compressedair-powered car is a fairly simple engineering
problem. Making one that makes sense economically is almost
impossible unless it's intended for a specialize usage where cost
isn't a concern.

The simple fact is that themodynamics is against the common usage
of compressed air vehicles. You have to use a lot of energy to
compress the air, and a large part of that energy is lost when
releasing the air. It's easy to think that because there's no
heat involved thermodynamics doesn't apply, but it does.

--
************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

"Mike" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 15 May 2009 08:36:30 +0100, "nightjar" cpb@insert my surname
here.me.uk wrote:

Several French cities had compresssed air
tram systems in the late 19th / early 20th century. They were tested in
Britain, but rejected on the grounds of operating costs. The French
systems
were later electrified.

Brunel tried it on the Broad Gauge, however just because it didnt work
with leather and tallow doesnt mean it cannot work now or in the
future.

Brunel's atmospheric railway used fixed pumping stations and was,
effectively, a linear motor system. That is a lot different in principle to
using compressed air from on-board reservoirs to run an expansion engine.

Colin Bignell

On May 15, 6:59*pm, "nightjar" cpb@insert my surname here.me.uk
wrote:
"Mike" wrote in message

...

On Fri, 15 May 2009 08:36:30 +0100, "nightjar" cpb@insert my surname
here.me.uk wrote:

Several French cities had compresssed air
tram systems in the late 19th / early 20th century. They were tested in
Britain, but rejected on the grounds of operating costs. The French
systems
were later electrified.

Brunel tried it on the Broad Gauge, however just because it didnt work
with leather and tallow doesnt mean it cannot work now or in the
future.

Brunel's atmospheric railway used fixed pumping stations and was,
effectively, a linear motor system. That is a lot different in principle to
using compressed air from on-board reservoirs to run an expansion engine.

Colin Bignell

less rats too

On May 15, 9:10*pm, hackamore wrote:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...owered-car-hyb....

e

Yet more balonium-based technology!

Well, I believe compressed air vehicles have been used in special
environments like coalmines where there is a risk of explosions.
Wikipedia has info. The main problem is the inefficiency which arises
from the heat lost in the compression and expansion cycle.

T.

Hi,

the article was on an experimental vehicle used only on airport grounds.

no real range, not fast enough even for city traffic, and only "green"
if you neglect to count the pollution created by the power plant to run
the compressor, the petrochemicals for the air tanks, etc.


someone probably said that about cars v horses some time back......was
that you ?

although....thinking about it....perhaps we should have stuck with
horses ;-)