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There must be a wind powered device hiding within the parts of an automobile. I’ve been contemplating designs for a wind powered device using only recycled automotive parts. To make my thought experiment more interesting, I’ve limited the resources to a single automobile. Having convinced myself that
it is possible to come up with a functional design, I thought it might make for an interesting design contest.
- The contest would be open to all; individuals and teams, universities and hot rod shops - anyone with a plasma cutter, a welder, a multimeter, and an imagination!
- Only parts that were originally found on the car model are allowed. Forging and recasting are not allowed but bending, reshaping, grinding are expected.
- Contest should be held at a notoriously windy location. (Parliament and other governmental locations excluded - hot air is not dense enough!)
- For judging there could be different categories - endurance or speed of power generation, esthetics, weight to power ratio, etc.
I would think that a major automotive manufacturer(s) would sponsor the event. Perhaps they could even be talked into supplying lightly crashed vehicles if they wanted their model associated with the innovation, creativity, and exposure from such a contest. Otherwise a trip to the local junk yard could procure a relatively inexpensive donor.
Future contests (assuming there are any) could be divided into different eras of automotive technology. The newest era could use the parts from a hybrid vehicle which would expand the creative options, while the retro division contestants will be doing internet searches to figure out the utility of the dwell on a set of points.
Alternate uses for alternators
http://alumni.media...tta/alternator.html
Power from Alternators [tumblewit, Mar 26 2016]
Sail Turbine
Sail_20Turbine
As mentioned in an annotation. [Vernon, Mar 26 2016]
Scrapheap Challenge
https://en.wikipedi...Scrapheap_Challenge
Kind-of Baked. [8th of 7, Mar 26 2016]
[link]
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Some variant of the Sail Turbine Idea (linked) might work,
using auto body panels as the sails. |
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Running a competition to solve a problem is hardly a halfbaked idea.... as in: Run a competition to make an anti-gravity device; or Run a competition to make cars run on shredded chicken feathers or Run a competition to teach all of the monkeys in Gibraltar to start speaking in Spanish. (some already do) |
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There's not much to it : body panels recut and shaped as vanes; alternator for power, wiring harnesses for wiring. |
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Everything else is useless: tires, shocks, engine, tranny, seats, glass... |
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Welcome to the club. Nice you could drop by tumblewitt. |
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Remember you don't have to say your full name when we tell our stories. Coffee is in the back there by the urn. Things should start pretty soon. |
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My favorite idea is a windmill mounted on the hood. It would need to have transparent blades so you could still see the road. It could power the radio. That way when you went really fast the radio would get super loud. If it got so loud that your hears hurt, that pain would remind you that you were speeding and should slow down. |
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woops - overlooked the part where it must be hiding within the parts. The problem is that down in the parts there is not much wind, judging by all the leaves that build up down there in my car. Well, the windmill could be down in there hiding (useful for getting under low clearance too!) and emerge like those rocket tubes on a spy car, when you hit a button. Like the radio button, because that is when you would need it. |
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Possibly you could have some deal where you temporarily power the blades from the car engine, which would help for extra speed when you needed it. Or have it wind up a spring and then when you release it, the blades turn ultrafast. You could call it the Bazoomba. _Should_ call it that. I am not sure if this speaks to the utility of the dwell, but probably. |
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We think he's fine with that bag of funny mushrooms he's
nibbling, actually. |
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Don't go to close to him, [FT]. If he starts to blink really fast and
hunch his shoulders, that's the usual sign that he's about to
attack. Or sometimes it means that his Irritable Bowel Syndrome
has reached criticality, and any second there's going to be an
excursion. |
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Either way, you probably want to stay back. |
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Ok [8th of 7] I'm watching both ends. Which is the puckered end? |
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I suppose you have a point [xenzag] about contests to solve problems. I guess I wasn't thinking of the specific problem of the world having too much wind, or too many scrap vehicles, but the problem of undiscovered talent and thought that a contest might reveal some. Perhaps you're right, I should have listed it under 'culture' or 'public" instead of 'science'. Thanks |
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You should propose your own solution, instead of describing
the problem and inviting others to solve it. That's not an
invention. Anyone can outline problems and suggest the
running of a competition to solve them. What's your
solution? Having said that, your submission is well
composed and the competition would be good, so have your
first ever croissant! [+] Now invent something useless, and
earn even more. :-) |
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I think the uniqueness of this idea is that there was no pun
involved in its name. |
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// Which is the puckered end? // |
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The one he speaks from, in our experience... |
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And the award for "Sleeper of the Year" goes to... |
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I like the idea. I think you'd have to limit it to
certain car models; otherwise whoever can find a
scrappable stretch limo has an unfair advantage. |
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