Would it be possible to run a car aided by wind power?
TrippleThreat asked:
Not a car solely running on wind power. It would be like a hybrid car; sometimes it would use battery power, sometimes it would use gas power, and sometimes it would use wind power. On the highway with 60 to 70+ m.p.h winds comming at you, don't you think somehow we could use that to help power the car?
I'm not talking about attaching a sail to the car I'm talking about wind turbines.
Not a car solely running on wind power. It would be like a hybrid car; sometimes it would use battery power, sometimes it would use gas power, and sometimes it would use wind power. On the highway with 60 to 70+ m.p.h winds comming at you, don't you think somehow we could use that to help power the car?
I'm not talking about attaching a sail to the car I'm talking about wind turbines.
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Comments on Would it be possible to run a car aided by wind power? »
I think that the drag that the wind generator puts on the car would offset any gain that wind power would give the car. It would hurt the aerodynamics. A wind generator needs to directly oppose the wind somehow. A car needs to cut thru the air and not be affected by wind.
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methane could run an engine but that is not the type of wind power you mean.
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With a bloody big sail……..yes, I should think so.
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No. Not a practical solution. The weight of the battery to power the electrical portion and the weight of the gas engine would call for a large sail that would not be able to be used in the current infrastructure.
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No. If you used "wind power" (which in fact is not wind–it's not the air moving, powered by an outside force–it's you moving through the air) you would cause a consequent reduction in your own movement. In other words, to "use" the wind power, you would have to increase the "air resistance" of your car. This would decrease the efficiency of your engine, and I'm almost certain that this loss of efficiency would be dramatically more than the energy gained from the wind "engine."
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good concept!
you could build an electric car and put a fan on top of it that is connected to an alternator. So as you drive the fan would spin because of the head wind and charge your battery….
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Yes but the mast getting caught on bridges may be a problem. Also it's hard to steer when tacking and jibing. LOL.
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any time you convert energy from one form to another you lose energy so the answer is no! It will take more power to push any such device through the air than you can possibly get back from the device!
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it will work only if you don't drive Ur car against the wind (if u mean a wind veil), and if u mean a wind powered generator you must consider the added weight and drag, maybe u could use the turbulence in the back of the car but it may only work at high speed, maybe it could work but you may need light an expensive materials
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Just find a blonde to blow into the exhaust pipe….
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That sounds thesable. I see what you are saying. If you are already in motion, why could you not put a turbine on the car to catch the wind and run a small generator to help power the car. It would work, but it would look like crap, unless you could figure out how to make a turbine that could mount like in the grill and catch wind, but on most of the hybrides coming out now, they have a generator on each wheel that powers the batteries. If you can figure out a way to provide enough power so the car would not have to be recharged as often or even increase the cars battery range, it could be beneficial. Try it with a motorcycle first and let us know how it goes. Good luck.
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