Wireless power could revolutionize highway transportation

Originally posted by nixie_nox
reply to post by liejunkie01

 

Americans need to start adapting to the idea of smaller cars.

Totally agree. I'm sick of these 5'2" 100 lb soccer moms in their giant gas guzzling 12 mpg military hummers. Unfortunately as long as people have their superiority complex and "look at ME!!" attitude, there's always going to be people trying to 1 up someone else.

reply to post by vanillaMinus


Excuse me,

But I have been driving a friggin Dodge Neon for several years now......Can I ask what kind of vehicle you have?

It is the semi trucks that are tearing up the roads.......

By the way, I am getting sick of the Neon, but i do not want to spend any money on a vehicle.....

Not trying to sound so harsh, I was actually smiling when I typed this reply..........

reply to post by liejunkie01


Oops! I read that too fast, I thought it was about fuel efficiency of the huge cars that a lot of Americans drive

I drive a Neon too. an 09 srt4. I bought it off a friend when my old used 06 sentra started to # out on me

Originally posted by Starchild23
This will never happen, for the same reason the schematics for the 100 mpg Ford engine were purchased by corporates and then locked away and forgotten.

There is no money to be made from this very expensive venture, and while it may be revolutionary, corporations (and by association, the government) have no interest in something that costs a lot but doesn't make money. It doesn't contribute to the economy.

I support this idea of electric highways, but the corporations won't like it.

Why wouldn't it make money?

The concept of wireless power and wireless charging can not be THAT new.
I had an electric toothbrush which charged "wireless" and this was already waaaayyy back in the 80s. It's called induction or something.

Agree with most of the posters in here.

Another great idea that will fall prey to the corporate giants that regulate the flow of new technology.

To think of the cost to retrofit even just the transcontinental highways alone would be enormous. Since theres no money to be made - a toll system will have to be implemented too charging drivers to traverse the system in their cars - so it essentially saves US, the consumer, nothing.

Without compensating the oil companies for the money that would be lost from not having to fill up - they would do one of two things. Shut down the idea all together or throw all investments to prop up electric companies sponsoring it and we'd have one hell of a mess.

It's why serious electric technology hasnt gotten off the ground. Its why free energy hasn't gotten off the ground. Its why anything challenging the Oil industry hasn't left the planning room.

smh

Originally posted by nixie_nox
Actually, if they could find a way to have cars generate electricity while driving down the highway, the highways themselves could become mass energy production, and power the cars.

They do generate electricity through mechanical energy in the crankshaft which runs the belt which turns the rotor inside the alternator.
Although, (without sounding cynical), cars get flat batteries all the time without any major load. If you start drawing current from people's batteries while on the road, and the alternator isn't powerful enough to charge it quick enough, then you run an extreme safety risk.
An overhaul on main roads infrastructure would likewise require an overhaul on the things using them.

Originally posted by vanillaMinus
reply to post by xxdaniel21

 

I agree that there are a lot of factors that go into making this possible.

I wish I could answer your questions but the only information I can find is in this article. It hasn't been lab tested yet apparently, so hopefully we get some solid figures when they publish their findings.

Yeah, i recall reading this article on another site quite a few months ago, but i believe it had the same information. It still requires a lot of research and development, but i agree with you entirely on the technology of man and our long term goals as a civilization.

I mean, they are talking displays within contact lenses with the intention of intergrating augmented reality in our daily lives. Now although we may be quite far from that (nano)technology (as far as i know as a citizen), we are still moving in that direction, and it's great to just see the ideas.

Like you said, nothing was ever accomplished without dreaming. Man will never move forward if it just does what is necessary to fullfill it's daily quota of work. It needs to go beyond that.

Originally posted by flexy123
The concept of wireless power and wireless charging can not be THAT new.
I had an electric toothbrush which charged "wireless" and this was already waaaayyy back in the 80s. It's called induction or something.

No, it's not that new. And my toothbrush charges in the same manner. It's called "inductive coupling", and refers to the relation between 2 inductive coils with eachother.
A circuit is made to simply create an electromagnetic field through a coil, which is picked up by another coil that is within a designated proximity - the proximity decides the strength of the signal, voltage, etc, and a lot of current consumer technology won't allow for an effective signal for over more than a couple of meters - if that. They're still showing off tv's that can sit a meter away from the wall (over a hundred years later - ha!)

Inductance = The ability to store energy in a magnetic field through an "inductor" (a coil)
Coupling = Relating 2 items to eachother.

To say 2 items are "inductively coupled" means they are mutually transceiving energy

That being said, nikola tesla demonstrated wireless energy transfer over a distance of just under 50km (or 30 miles) in the very late 1800's.

Although it's not necessarily new, the topic is often brought up time and time again due to our demands on such resources, as we find new methods of using inductive coupling.
And in a world where companies still have years worth of capital in a desired industry, it would be naive to think they would give that up for the "better" of man.

It's just one of those things

Originally posted by Plan2exist18

Its why anything challenging the Oil industry hasn't left the planning room.

smh

/thread

reply to post by vanillaMinus


Dear vanillaMinus,

The long-term goal of the research is to develop an all-electric highway that wirelessly charges cars and trucks as they cruise down the road. The new technology has the potential to dramatically increase the driving range of electric vehicles and eventually transform highway travel, according to the researchers.

As with all technologies there are pluses and minuses. Currently, there is a move within the transportation industry to move away from taxing gas sales to taxing mileage per year. Part of the reason is because with an increase in CNG and electric or hybrid vehicles the amount of revenue going to maintain the highways is decreasing while the need to repair them is increasing. That being said, no doubt you would be charged based on how much electricity or miles you drove. It will not be free.

My biggest issue with an electric highway is that you could be shut off or have your mobility limited. As this is a conspiracy website I think we should consider how this might be used to control our freedom of mobility. The same technology that could be used to shut down the car of a fleeing felon could be used to shut down the car of people who are driving to D.C. to join the Occupy Movement. Just some things to consider. Peace.

This will never happen, for the same reason the schematics for the 100 mpg Ford engine were purchased by corporates and then locked away and forgotten. There is no money to be made from this very expensive venture, and while it may be revolutionary, corporations (and by association, the government) have no interest in something that costs a lot but doesn't make money. It doesn't contribute to the economy. I support this idea of electric highways, but the corporations won't like it.

reply to post by Starchild23


I don't really agree with your idea that some how this system wouldn't be profitable. I could see it as being highly profitable, since if the article is correct, then your car would be charging as you drive. Each mile would be taking energy from the system, and therefore the companies that would supply the electricity to the system, could easily argue that you should be charged for every mile you drive. At that point the profitability is scalable, it's all in how much they charge you per mile; 50 cents a mile today, in a year a $1.00 a mile and etc.Frankly from a companies perspective it probably would be far more profitable, because the way it is now they only get their money, when you fill your tank or charge your car. With this system every mile is money in their pocket.

Also, what happens if they decide to increase the price in peak traffic times and you are already away from home when the price per mile goes up? Suddenly it will cost you far more to get home that day, unless you park your car somewhere and leave it.

Furthermore, even if they inch the price up too high for some people to afford, that is beneficial as well, because their will be lot less cars on the road and less need for highway expansion projects.

Really the system seems like it could be a gold mine for the electric companies and even a boon to governments and public transportation systems. But that is just my opinion.

reply to post by Phage


you are right Phage, but I was thinking of something more sophisticated. They are already toying with concepts such as having a mechanism inside the wheel that would generate electricity as the car drives. Come up with a form of tire that conducts and you could have the power transferred to the road. Or go old school like trolleys and have a mechanism that contacts with the road that would transfer electricity.

Or you can build a more sophisticated and larger alternator.

reply to post by Segador


Silly noob, trix are for kids.

Let me explain my answer before you try to reduce it to toasters and Egyptians again.

If you looked at the post I was responding too, it was regarding if an EMP can disable a modern car. Yes they could, which is why I made the comment that I did, because new cars are less mechanics and more computers these days. So much so that a wrong program downloaded into a mother board can render a car completely useless.

does that make sense now?

I had this idea and posted it in Wired.com comments sections when they ran electric car articles.

Charging the cars from the road is just one piece of the puzzle.

Think of maglev trains, make maglev powered cars all controlled by the highway getting power from the highway.

Redesign all interstate highways with this technology and let it trickle down state and local roads as time goes on.