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Solar Car To Retrace Cross-Australian Route
Dave Snowdon writes "Its been 20 years since Quiet Achiever, the first solar car, crossed Australia from West to East (~4000km). Sunswift 2, the UNSW solar car is set to retrace the original route, in order to set a new transcontinental record. The original car took 21 days, Sunswift is expected to complete in less than 7."
Yea, but in the UK an hour of sun is all you'd need to cross it :)
God save our Queen, and Heaven bless The Maple Leaf Forever!
a 3-fold improvement in 20 years means a 3^(1/20) = 1.056 improvement per year, or log(2^(1/1.5))/log(3^(1/20)) = 8.41 times slower than Moore's Law (doubling every 18 months). That's what you could compute with a math degree.
not yet. These cars are actually nothing like the cars we drive yet. There are several obstacles to overcome before they become in widespread use
1) These cars can only hold one person, and they can barely hold one person. It is really uncomfortable, barely tolerable. Weight is a huge factor; carrying many people is a big problem
2) These things are expensive! (Mainly the solar panels)
3) The maximum speed of most cars (which is actually rapidly improving) is barely high enough for the highway.
4) You can only drive so far in the night. The batteries arent that strong
5) The super-sleek designs cannot be used if these cars are going to cary more people/things. (they need more power to overcome the resistance of the air)
for more info, here is the website of arguably the best north american team. it's full of info
You are missing the point of the whole exercise. I was involved in the construction of solar boat in college, (only the big schools can afford car programs now) Solar and electric etc car programs, develop alot of new technologies that enter the maintstream. Lightweight construction techniques and new motor technologies help industry as whole. Solar cells themselves get field tested under stressful conditions. Although solar cars will never be sold to consumers, things that look like them will. Cheap molded composite aerodynamic autos, powered by incredibly efficient gas or hybrid engines (130 mpg or so) are necessary to get the 3rd world on wheels.
Right now we are seeing solar panels on some cars to power small vent fans and tickle charge batteries.
been there, done that. Perth to Melbourne in 3.5 days, taking into account sleeping at night and such. You'd be nuts to go any faster, it's too hot along the Nullabor.