New engine shakes up auto industry

Strider590

Well...... Just to kick off something controversial. Why not use nuclear power in cars?
We're headed toward cars which drive themselves, prevent crashes etc etc etc, so what's the issue with powering cars using the more harmless waste isotopes produced in the nuclear power plants?

The Nimitz class aircraft carrier is the largest ocean going ship in the world and with it's nuclear power it can run for over 20 years without refuelling!

Imagine it.... Cars that NEVER need to be refuelled and NEVER need to be recharged! Zero emissions AND reprocessing nuclear waste at the same time! Cut your fuel costs by 100%!

And, before any media !!!!!'s go on and on about Japan, think about this..... Thousands of people have been killed by the earthquake/tsunami, yet the media is causing a frenzy over radiation which has so far killed nobody!

Kilty_2

Strider590 wrote: »

Well...... Just to kick off something controversial. Why not use nuclear power in cars?!

Wig

property.advert wrote: »

It will all be obsolete anyway with this Vauxhall type thing where the fuel powers the generator when the battery has died giving hundreds of mpg and a plug in and play overnight.

http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vehicles/future-models-and-concepts/ampera/index.html

It's a pity they don't put up the full details they talk about an "electrically driven mile" costing 2p Vs a normal petrol driven car costing 9p But the Ampera can only do 50 miles of pure electric drive, so this is misleading as it is not an overall realistic picture.

Then later on they say 175mpg on fuel and electric combined but they don't say how much the electric charging costs.

Why don't they just state the facts?

For example this is what I would want to know

• How many Kwh of electricity does it take to charge from flat to full overnight?
• How many litres of petrol does the tank hold?
• with a full tank and full charge how many miles will you get at 60mph with two adults in the car?
• With no charge but with a full tank of petrol how many miles will you get

Wig

greenman7 wrote: »

A new engine has no radiator, no pistons, no valves, no transmission, and no fluids, other than the fuel).The engine is only suited for hybrid-electric vehicles. The efficiency they are claiming: is over 3x what today's petrol engines produce. The developers, a team at Michigan State University, hope to have this engine on the market in the next two/three years.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42460541/ns ... nnovation/

And that video was 18months ago so there should be an update soon.

maninthestreet

Surelyy, it's just a variation on the rotary engine theme??

Strider590

maninthestreet wrote: »

Surelyy, it's just a variation on the rotary engine theme??

Looks to me like burning petrol to power a generator turbine in order to generate electricity.
Efficiency would come from the fact that ALL of the heat/gas produced by burning fuel would have to pass through the turbine.... Efficient in one respect yes, but there's no 100% efficient way to turn movement into electricity, you'd be lucky to see 60% efficiency. Where a typical combustion engine makes use of around 15% of the energy from the fuel (the rest being wasted as heat/etc).

rev_henry

Strider590 wrote: »

Looks to me like burning petrol to power a generator turbine in order to generate electricity.
Efficiency would come from the fact that ALL of the heat/gas produced by burning fuel would have to pass through the turbine.... Efficient in one respect yes, but there's no 100% efficient way to turn movement into electricity, you'd be lucky to see 60% efficiency. Where a typical combustion engine makes use of around 15% of the energy from the fuel (the rest being wasted as heat/etc).

Basically like a diesel electric train.

moonrakerz

I hope the guys at Michigan State University have made their Wills and got all their "affairs" in order - remember what happened to the man who said he had invented an engine that ran on tap water..............:rotfl::rotfl:

Arg

SailorSam wrote: »

Even at that price it may well be worth buying,
If you're using a gallon of petrol a day to go to work and shopping, lets say £150 pw, and the batteries on the Vauxhall could be recharged for pennies.
How long will it take for your new car to pay for itself ?
The savings i'd make and the annual mileage i do it would probably take about 100yrs, but could be a serious idea for others.

Not forgetting batteries only last so many recharge cycles before needing to be replaced.

Arg

greenman7 wrote: »

A new engine has no radiator, no pistons, no valves, no transmission, and no fluids, other than the fuel).The engine is only suited for hybrid-electric vehicles. The efficiency they are claiming: is over 3x what today's petrol engines produce. The developers, a team at Michigan State University, hope to have this engine on the market in the next two/three years.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42460541/ns ... nnovation/

Looks like a squashed turbine engine.