Everyone seems to be forgetting that to compress air requires energy. That energy is usually in the form of a gasoline engine powered air compressor. So, where exactly is the greenness of this technology.
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for innovation. But this seems to fall short in so many ways. IMHO.
As far as the universe is concerned, I believe that the scientists are under a misconception that they are seeing stars and galaxies, apparently, moving outwards. What if, everything moves outward for a while--say, two billion years---then moves inwards for a while--say, another two billion years. If you are only in existence during the outward phase, then you may make some false assumptions. Again, just my humble opinion.
I think a Electric powered Air compressor is far more common then GAS. So your powering it from the electric grid just like a electric car. I would also assume a Air powered Car would be far cheaper to make then a electric car because battery's can be really expensive and will at some point have to be replaced. Filling a tank with Air, the only thing you have to worry about is the tank rusting out. Will have to be drained regularly.
@Benson - "Maybe they can, but this is not a company with a great idea. Compressed air is great for power density, lousy for energy density. And quite lossy for recharging. It's at best on par with electric, but you need more infrastructure to use it."
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "you need *more* infrastructure" (emphasis mine). However, even if it is only on par with an electric, it would hold two primary advantages over electric: 1) The infrastructure already exists (gas stations everywhere already have air compressors, many of them free of charge, for your tires; and 2) It takes considerably less time to fill an air tank than it does to charge a battery.
If the concepts actually play out in the real world this is essentially an electric car with energy storage in compressed air instead of in a battery, making it theoretically much more flexible to use in daily operation. And it is not hard to imagine hooking up a solar powered, or very small gas powered air compressor to this car to make for a hybrid version.
While I'm sure that gasoline powered air compressors exist, most of my experience with air compressors is those of the electrically powered variety - in workshops, private garages, and *gas stations*.
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Everyone seems to be forgetting that to compress air requires energy. That energy is usually in the form of a gasoline engine powered air compressor. So, where exactly is the greenness of this technology.
Don't get me wrong. I'm all for innovation. But this seems to fall short in so many ways. IMHO.
As far as the universe is concerned, I believe that the scientists are under a misconception that they are seeing stars and galaxies, apparently, moving outwards. What if, everything moves outward for a while--say, two billion years---then moves inwards for a while--say, another two billion years. If you are only in existence during the outward phase, then you may make some false assumptions. Again, just my humble opinion.
You could be running a solar- or wind-powered compressor.
I think a Electric powered Air compressor is far more common then GAS. So your powering it from the electric grid just like a electric car. I would also assume a Air powered Car would be far cheaper to make then a electric car because battery's can be really expensive and will at some point have to be replaced. Filling a tank with Air, the only thing you have to worry about is the tank rusting out. Will have to be drained regularly.
@Benson - "Maybe they can, but this is not a company with a great idea. Compressed air is great for power density, lousy for energy density. And quite lossy for recharging. It's at best on par with electric, but you need more infrastructure to use it."
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "you need *more* infrastructure" (emphasis mine). However, even if it is only on par with an electric, it would hold two primary advantages over electric: 1) The infrastructure already exists (gas stations everywhere already have air compressors, many of them free of charge, for your tires; and 2) It takes considerably less time to fill an air tank than it does to charge a battery.
If the concepts actually play out in the real world this is essentially an electric car with energy storage in compressed air instead of in a battery, making it theoretically much more flexible to use in daily operation. And it is not hard to imagine hooking up a solar powered, or very small gas powered air compressor to this car to make for a hybrid version.
While I'm sure that gasoline powered air compressors exist, most of my experience with air compressors is those of the electrically powered variety - in workshops, private garages, and *gas stations*.