World’s First Air Car
India’s largest automaker is set to start producing the world’s first commercial air-powered vehicle. The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air, as opposed to the gas-and-oxygen explosions of internal-combustion models, to push its engine’s pistons. Some 6000 zero-emissions Air Cars are scheduled to hit Indian streets in August of 2008.
With a top speed of 68mph and a 125 mile range, this car might be a little shabby for a full-fledged family car, but they are decent enough for urban transit, especially considering the cost: 340 liters of air compressed at 4350 psi can be refilled in a few minutes, at only $2.
I have always wondered about the validity of an “air-car” though. While it certainly sounds very green – powered by air, does no harmful emissions at all – physics tells me that the work required to compress the air would have to involve some sort of energy input somewhere, whether it be at the car’s compressor, or the delivery pump. What do these pumps run on? Oil? Electricity? Is the compressed-air engine more efficient than the combustion engine?
You can replace powerplants much easier than you can replace a population of cars.
So while it may simply be ‘shifting the source of pollution from 1 point to another’ in the short term, in the long term we will be able to build new power plants that generate power mainly via renewable energy sources as we axe the old plants.
my name is William J. Thompson im a 14 year old boy and i have a design for a air/electric engine that runs into a air turbine that i designed my self if you would like to see i would be glad to show you im am still working on the proto-type but when finished i will comment you again to show.
Thankyou for your time.
At 2.00 to fill the tank the efficiency factor really doesn’t seem to be an issue. If it reaches 68 miles an hour and gets 125 miles per gallon then its getting 125 miles per 2.00.
I would think that with gasoline the closest would be about 40 miles per 2.00 dollars and thats the hybrid cars in best driving conditions.
As the need for electricity would go up for sure, and the price of electricity would also go up some. It would increase the demand for other alternative energy sources for power which in the long run is probably a good thing.