Possible Idea To Explore?

[Brad777]

Hi Phil and crew!

Glad to see you guys taking some initiative in helping electric cars become a viable mode of transportation!

Had an idea I wanted to pass along to you guys to tinker with if you found any merit in it. As long as you are going to be pulling some sort of small trailer behind the car, what would be the feasibility of manually coupling the axel(s) of the trailer to a bank of manual input/electric output transformers and perhaps even coupling those to an additonal bank of step-up transformers? A gear system of some sort would allow for spinning the transformers very fast even with slow axel speeds. Just a thought I wanted to pass along in case you guys felt it was worth exploring.

 

[Randy]

I'm not sure I understand your idea fully...Do you think there's lost energy associated with pulling the trailer that you want to recapture?

Not sure I understand the reference to transformers...Transformers are typically used to "transform" AC voltages up or down.

 

[TonyWilliams]

manual input/electric output transformers and perhaps even coupling those to an additonal bank of step-up transformers? A gear system of some sort would allow for spinning the transformers very fast even with slow axel speeds.

Sounds like another perpetual motion idea.

 

[gbarry42]

Sounds like another perpetual motion idea.

Sounds rather like the same idea again (and you forgot the "rolleyes"). We should have a thread titled, "Perpetual Motion!", and a button we can click to instantly "promote" such messages to that thread.

As to Brad's suggestion, (I'm sure "spinning transformer" means "generator"), here are the punch lines:
1. You don't get back as much energy as you put in to do it in the first place.
2. Gears can make things go faster, but you lose torque (they can't push anything)
3. Transformers can raise the voltage, but you lose the current (amps are what does the real work)

Grab your favorite search engine, and do some reading. Remember, each of us had such ideas at one time, and had to learn how things really work. That's the joy of learning.

 

[Brad777]

GBarry...

All that you say is TRUE. The idea is not for perpetual motion. The idea is to PROLONG visits between chargings without having to invest further in sources of fuel. If you are pulling the trailer anyway... pull something that generates something that extends the cars mileage between chargings at a SMALLER price and without having to burn another source of fuel. Thats all.

 

[TonyWilliams]

If you are pulling the trailer anyway... pull something that generates something that extends the cars mileage between charging

So, not perpetual, just extended. The only thing that will add energy to the equation with Phil's gas turbine trailer is the propane. Everything else is a tool to harness that propane energy.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I think it has now been made clear here (and in history) that you can't have over unity. Many people do not understand this concept but after a little research it is clear why. In some cases no matter how much you explain this and no matter how you do that there will be people that will not accept this concept which is why you can find Youtube videos on perpetual machines. If this were possible Nissan would have put generator fans on the front grill. For those that do not accept or understand this, use the Google. Let's put this to rest

 

[lpickup]

GBarry...

All that you say is TRUE. The idea is not for perpetual motion. The idea is to PROLONG visits between chargings without having to invest further in sources of fuel. If you are pulling the trailer anyway... pull something that generates something that extends the cars mileage between chargings at a SMALLER price and without having to burn another source of fuel. Thats all.

The problem is that this will not extend range at all. It will REDUCE range. You need to understand that towing a generator will create so much drag that your range will be reduced. Not because of the additional weight and aerodynamics of the trailer (which will also reduce range all on its own) but because as soon as you hook up the wheels to a generator they become more difficult to turn. The energy you get back out of the trailer is LESS THAN the energy you put into it by towing it.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I have a roof mounted fan generator kit I will be selling soon for the LEAF. At 70 MPH it will give you -15 miles in range boost. Anyone interested can pre-order for $165, after next week the price wil be $738 plus shipping. Just send me a PM and I will let you know where to Paypal the money.

 

[ghabel]

I have a roof mounted fan generator kit I will be selling soon for the LEAF. At 70 MPH it will give you -15 miles in range boost. Anyone interested can pre-order for $165, after next week the price wil be $738 plus shipping. Just send me a PM and I will let you know where to Paypal the money.

Lol big time. The scary thing is some people will buy it, and more than one would think.

 

[LakeLeaf]

The secret is in the gearing system - but first you have to drain that 10W40 and refill with -10W. That's the ticket!

 

[jbrawn]

My favorite was a guy who visited my college engineering class to propose that we run several dozen 12" diameter wires all the way around the earth from north pole to south pole and back, and turn the earth itself into a giant generator based on it's spin. He "calculated" that we could produce enough electricity to replace all existing electrical generation, and replace all energy gained from burning fossil fuels at the cost of increasing the length of the day by less than 1 minute every 100 years. He claimed that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Bechtel were bidding for the construction contract. He was building a consortium to invest in it. I guess he mistakenly thought that some of us undergrads had checking account balances higher than our IQs -- wasn't true in my case.

There were so many things wrong with this idea that it was hard at first to formulate a reply!

I hadn't thought about that in years, but this thread brought all back to me in technicolor. I recall telling a friend who was an MBA candidate about this scheme. He got very excited and suggested that we should all buy stock in companies mining and producing copper! (He might have been right about the copper...)

 

[LakeLeaf]

Maybe we can create a new menu group for all of these posts and group them all together.

Now - what to call it?

Great extended range ideas
Perpetual motion charging
Getting more energy out then you put in
I flunked high school physics
I never even took high school physics

 

[Nubo]

Maybe we can create a new menu group for all of these posts and group them all together.

Now - what to call it?

The Windmills of Your Mind

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ETiQvL6alI[/youtube]

 

[Nubo]

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