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Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cars. Show all posts

Friday, August 23, 2013

My dream car.

The remote control toy that could change the way we travel: Car that transforms into a quadcopter revealed - and a FULL SIZE version is on the way

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Single-molecule 'electric car' taken for test drive

BBC News - Single-molecule 'electric car' taken for test drive: "With 10 electric bursts, the car was made to move six billionths of a metre."
Molecular simulation of nanoscale "car"

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

How to turn plastic waste into diesel fuel cheaply

This is a landmark video. Thank you for sharing it Alex. I read up on it; see below. Still it is a shame to burn plastic as fuel when it could better serve (forever) by moulding it into other plastic things that last for ever ish. Still when you cost it all out 30 cent per litre fuel is a bargain...

I snooped around and discovered the process is well known, you can melt anything at 300 to 400 degrees and distill it as long as there is no oxygen in the mix to cause it to burn. The result varies, sugar cane to alcohol, tires distill into smelly fuel (sulfur smell), and so on. Steve
This other amazing guy and his team built a similar prototype and reveals all the details for do-it-yourself types:
How to turn plastic waste into diesel fuel cheaply

The process is really simple, it is similar to how alcohol is made. If you heat plastic waste in non oxygen environment, it will melt, but will not burn. After it has melted, it will start to boil and evaporate, you just need to put those vapors through a cooling pipe and when cooled the vapors will condense to a liquid and some of the vapors with shorter hydrocarbon lengths will remain as a gas. The exit of the cooling pipe is then going through a bubbler containing water to capture the last liquid forms of fuel and leave only gas that is then burned. If the cooling of the cooling tube is sufficient, there will be no fuel in the bubbler, but if not, the water will capture all the remaining fuel that will float above the water and can be poured off the water. On the bottom of the cooling tube is a steel reservoir that collects all the liquid and it has a release valve on the bottom so that the liquid fuel can be poured out. Here are some pictures to better understand the design:
Picture: http://www.emuprim.lv/jetijs/plog-content/thumbs/jeti-stuff/degviela-no-riep__m/large/1307-zupa-0011.jpg
I got 1000kg of sgredded plastic for around 50$, if all of this is turned into fuel, I get around one ton of diesel. Also the leftover small amount of charcoal can be used by pressing it into briquettes and burning it later in a stove.

The reactor chamber is made out of an old 50 liter steel propane tank,

you will only need around 8 cents worth of electricity per liter of fuel,
The quality of the fuel was already tested, it is about 90-95% diesel and 5-10% gasoline. This works great in liquid fuel burners. If you need it for a diesel engine, you just need to heat the fuel to abut 250 degrees till all gasoline evaporates and you now have pure diesel.

How to build one: permalink
Energetic Forum - Registration

Bigger plants:

Plastic Turned Into Crude Oil by Plas2Fuel: Carbon Footprint Unknown : TreeHugger




Interesting opinions:

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Futuristic Electric Vehicle

This here is the Citroën E-3POD Antistatic design study. Thanks Jacques. Citroën E-3POD Antistatic Concept for a Futuristic Electric Vehicle - Carscoop

Car buying tips in French - Acheter une auto sans se faire avoir


Je tiens à féliciter Luc Bernier au lancement d'un nouveau service, son site web http://consultantautomobile.com est très éclairé. Voici quelques extraits illuminés tirés de son site. Merci Luc. Steve.


Avec consultant automobile, nous nous proposons de vous révéler les secrets les mieux gardés de la vente automobile afin de vous aider à réaliser des économies pouvant aller jusqu'à plusieurs  milliers de dollars. Source: Acheter une auto sans se faire avoir.



...Nous vous recommandons de commencer vos démarches en début de mois et de faire patienter votreconcessionnaire jusqu’à la dernière semaine du mois avant de passer à l’action. Source: Auto neuve, quand acheter
 
...à l’achat d’un véhicule usagé.  Il est préférable de reposer son choix sur de la bonne information..Source :Services offerts, voiture d'occasion

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Park and hide

Clearly necessity is the mother of invention. Can you spare a $75,000 ?
Park and hide: Sales double of Thunderbirds-style pop-up garage that sinks into your drive | Mail Online

Monday, January 10, 2011

Porsche debuts 918 RSR hybrid with flywheels?



Porsche says the electric motors on the two front wheels each contribute 75 kilowatts to the peak drive power, which clocks in at 767 hp.
More on the flywheel accumulator, in the Stuttgart, Germany-based automaker’s own words:
This flywheel accumulator is an electric motor whose rotor rotates at up to 36,000 rpm to store rotation energy.
the energy can be got into and out of the flywheel faster than it can be with batteries, so the electric kick out of a corner can be bigger. Also, the flywheel is lighter than batteries. 
...It won't say when (we hear about two years) or how many (but 2,500 non-binding ‘letters of intent' have been signed by potential customers) or how much it'll cost (er, lots). 
Detroit 2011: Porsche unveils 918 RSR - BBC Top Gear 
 The kinetic energy of the flywheel can then be used with the push of a button by the driver. If the driver needs a little boost coming out of a corner or for a pass, there will be an additional 162 horsepower available for six to eight seconds. While the flywheel power system does provide a power boost, it can also be used to conserve fuel,  Peek Inside Porsche’s Super Hybrids | Autopia | Wired.com

Monday, January 03, 2011

Re-molded ecological tires - Made in Québec - Techno Pneu

Clear out those vast dumps of worn out tires. This technology produces tires that are 30 % cheaper than new tires, only 13 litres of petroleum are required to re-mold a tire against 37 litres for new tires, the whole is process is local. 30% of European cars run on re-molded tires. Why not buy them next time? Steve
"Remolded tires are ecological, offering consumers concerned about the environment an alternative to traditional tires — and at a lower cost." Techno Pneu - Remolded ecological tires, retreaded tires, manufacturer's tires - Techno Remolded Tires

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Winter Tips for your Car.

Hints For Winter by mom.

Wipe ordinary car wax on headlights. It contains special water repellents that will prevent that messy mixture from accumulating on your lights  lasts 6 weeks.
 
Squeak-proof wipers with a cloth saturated with rubbing alcohol or ammonia.

Fill a spray bottle three parts vinegar one part water  spritz on windows at night. In the morning, they'll be clear of icy mess. Vinegar contains acetic acid, which raises the melting point of water preventing water from freezing.

Prevent car doors from freezing shut with cooking spray Spritz cooking oil on the rubber seals around car doors  rub it in with a paper 
towel. The cooking spray prevents water from melting into the rubber.

Fog proof your windshield Spray shaving cream on the inside of your windshield  wipe with paper towels.

De-ice lock put some hand sanitizer gel on the key

Fill spray bottle with windshield washer, for deicing frozen doors etc.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

When bad inventions disappear, it's not a conspiracy, just physics.

I love inventions, but many very cool ideas disappear from view for no apparent reason  and conspiracy theories are set in motion (I’m reminded of perpetual motion engines, water engines, gas savers, basement nuclear power, etc...).

Today, it’s the Air Car from Tata Motors of India. It runs on Air!  Will they tax the very air we breathe?

Well they won't tax compressed air, because air isn't the fuel, it is just energy storage. You still have to pay for the electrical energy to run the compressor; and it takes a great deal of energy since it is the same energy you would use to move the car plus the energy you waste compressing the air (heating the air, etc.).  I read that less than 15% of the energy you put in moves the car, the rest goes up in heat!

Still compressed air may temporarily be in competition with batteries if only because it is very compelling. But the "air car" is a falacy, since the air is compressed with electrical energy, it might as well be called the "coal car" because electrical energy in India is often coal powered (Compressed air car - Wikipedia).

When "miraculous" inventions disapear from view, I don't blame conspiracy theories, just the laws of physics.

With full tanks it is said to run at 100 km/h (62 mph) for 90 kilometres (56 mi) range in urban cycle. There are severe physical arguments pleading against those figures. In December 2009 Tata's vice president of engineering systems confirmed that the limited range and low engine temperatures were causing difficulties.[23]

Now, where was that bicycle again?

Steve

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Have your tires installed at home. Pneus à Domicile M.F. - Nos prix

No more dragging tires to the garage, bring the tire shop to your home. Thank you Linda this is a cool tip. I have not tried them yet, but after spending three hours at the shop this year, I have to give them a shot next time. Steve. 
"16 pouces et moins pose et balancement: $55, 16 pouces et moins pose seulement (Pneus déja montés) $35, À partir de 17 pouces, ajouter $5 par pouces supplémentaires. $5 de rabais pour groupes de 5 voitures et plus."
Pneus à Domicile M.F. 
Téléphone: 450-562-4850

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Toyo Microbit Tires Are Nutty! - Josh Spear, Trendspotting



Tis the season to speak of tires. Thanks Gilberte for this unusual but true tidbit.
Microbit Tires have countless Walnut Shells embedded in their tread. Have you ever felt how sharp a walnut shell is?
Toyo Microbit Tires: These Are Nutty! - Josh Spear, Trendspotting

Google's top 10 innovations of the year

"In October, Google revealed that it had, in fact, developed technology for cars that can drive themselves."
Hot or not? Google's top 10 innovations of the year - IT Business Slideshow - Index:

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Google Apps - Now Create and name resources

"What is a calendar resource?
A calendar resource is anything you schedule that isn't an event. The most common example is a meeting room. Other examples might include projectors, company fleet cars, guest offices or quiet work areas, recreation areas or equipment, or any other resource that the people in your organization might schedule a time to use."

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Computers, not humans, should be driving cars

Your car should drive itself. It’s amazing to me that we let humans drive cars. It’s a bug that cars were invented before computers.

Google's Schmidt: Computers, not humans, should be driving cars | ZDNet

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Humancar hybrid that runs on arm power

I just don't see myself going to work in this. As for the 100 kmph performance,  show me over a full commute. Thanks Jacques.
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2010/08/humancar-hybrid-that-runs-on.html

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Moving controls around isn't always an improvement.

I'm tired of software redesigning the user interface, would you buy the car with the following "features"   Office 2010: a deeper dive 
- The 2012 cars will be changed:

  • > the gas pedal is now where the horn used to be,
  • > the horn is where the brake pedal used to be,
  • > the brake pedal is now where the turn signal activator used to be
  • > the turn signal activator is where the gas pedal used to be
  • > the gear shift mechanism is where the sunroof used to be
  • > the steering wheel doesn't turn anymore steering the car has been replaced with the 4 arrows of a computer keyboard
  • > the rear view mirror now shows you what's in front of you
  • > the clutch for a manual transmission is where the door handle used to be
  • > the door handles are now under the seat
  • > the cruise control buttons are where the Radio / CD player used to be.
  • > the Radio / CD player controls are now on the head rest of drivers seat 
  • > etc.


Source: Ask E.T.: PowerPoint Does Rocket Science--and Better Techniques for Technical Reports
...requires all federal employees and contractors employed at NASA centers to have a current version of MS Office installed on their desktop computer. Back of the envelope cost*: $13,200,000 every time a new version comes out. 

Thursday, March 25, 2010