--- Jeff Fink <[email protected]> wrote:
> About a year or two ago Kyle, you jumped all over my
> idea of harnessing the
> power wasted in automobile shock absorbers. Check
> out the June 09 Popular
> Science, page 48.
Don't have it in front of me, but a little Googling
turns up some things. 1kW of power is suggested over a
'standard stretch of road.' I don't know what that is,
specifically, but:
The bumpier the road, the more you get from the shock
BACK, but the more you waste engine-wise. A suggestion
was also made to have power-collecting speedbumps
generate power to run streetlights. All sounds great,
but...TANSTAAFL! You're simply consuming more power
from the auto's engine, to be 'liberated' by the
municipality for their lights. Not the mention,
beating the car's suspension out from under it.
Also, I can replace gas shocks in my car for about $18
per shock. My boss drives a Mercedes Benz S500. Each
shock (there are four) is $1700. They fail regularly,
also. I would be interested to know how much
energy-harvesting shocks would cost the consumer.
There are a lot of 'good ideas' out there, but
implementation and the realities that follow are never
what is originally expected or intended.
Anyhow, whenever I come across the magazine itself, I
will look and see what it says. As for right now, I'm
gonna go build me-self a Mylow motor, and see what it
does. 99%, it won't work. But hey...?
--Kyle
