h a l f b a k e r yI didn't say you were on to something, I said you were on something.
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Inventor 1 – Creative Dept.
A little car with three engines, one for a tiny radar that shows you where you’re skidding to, the other one’s for the fan that blows you where you’re going, and turns corners to go where the car’s going. And it says the third is for the actual car. And the wheels are
square ice blocks so you can go skidding all ways. And yeah, the fan should come out the top of the car on a metal pole.
(completely made of carobon fiber)
-[crash]
Inventor 2 – Rationalisation Dept.
Replace car tyres with big cylindrical ice columns so that the car can glide effortlessly in any direction. Position the blocks vertically and clamp them in place using cogs. The cogs turn to gradually lower the columns as ice is scraped off the bottom so that the car remains level. As the ice columns are being constantly eroded from underneath they are also being built up from on top by a constant fine spray of sub-zero air and water. The vehicle is powered by a large fan (a la everglades fan-boat) and steered by a tail rudder. A radar based collision avoidance system is connected to the steering controls and protects the vehicle from damage. And yeah, the car has only one engine and the fan is roof mounted, not pop-up.
Ice Car
http://www.purple-p...lfbakery/icecar.jpg
A fun way to die. [wagster, May 04 2005]
[link]
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Erm. What's the coefficient of friction of ice on pavement, though? Ice on ice, sure. Rubber on ice - - okay. This, though, doesn't seem quite right. |
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Nice visual image of it, though. Very "inspector gadget." |
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I love this. Would this be like a form of Santa's sleigh, except cooler (both in the literal and metaphorical sense)? |
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I think this deserves a drawing. And a bun. |
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Where's that bun then [froglet]? |
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Cool idea, but I think the blocks of ice would shatter under the weight. |
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The ice blocks would be largely
encompassed in steel tubes (with holes
for the cogs to get a grip) to prevent
this problem. [Contracts]' objection
was more of a problem - this car would
probably work best on flat roads. I
might make a scale model to see how it
behaves. Or I might not get around to
it. Either way, it's a promise. |
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Instead of steel columns, could the ice be in upturned bar glasses? Far more elegant, and the tumbling ice would create a cool sound and possibly less friction.
Oh..how to get the new ice in as it melts/wears..Use dry ice, with carbon dioxide piped in. |
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My scale model wasn't very good - the ice block wheels kept coming off - so I did a piccy of how it should look (link). The fan has been replaced by something cooler. |
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So- a vehicle driven by a fan, with a low-friction contact with the road. Doesn't a hovercraft already do a better job then this would? |
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I just used an ice cube to draw a fishbone on my concrete porch. The ice did not glide effortlessly. |
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That is a nice graphic, though. |
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On the gripping hand, the car as described would go like a bat on a smooth ice surface. Car hockey, anyone? |
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