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MIT Team Creates Shock That Recharges Your Car
An anonymous reader writes "If you had a GenShock, you may not mind those potholes in the road any longer because this new prototype shock actually harvests energy from bumps in the road to save on fuel. A team of students at MIT have invented a shock absorber that harnesses energy from small bumps in the road, generating electricity while it smooths the ride more effectively than conventional shocks. Senior Shakeel Avadhany and his teammates say they can produce up to a 10 percent improvement in overall vehicle fuel efficiency by using the regenerative shock absorbers. They also already have a lot of interest in their design, specifically the company that builds Humvees for the army are already planning to install them in its next version of the Humvee."
I hope you are being silly. The most efficient way to travel would be a perfectly smooth road, one that didn't suck energy out of the vehicle, in the form of a bump, in the first place.
To truly express the dilemma, you have to weigh the amount of energy used to maintain a smooth road versus the new found energy return from these shocks.
Crappy highway conditions aside, you aren't pulling up to a stopsign/red light that often on the highway. THUS, the regenerative braking can't work.
bottom line, if we keep making little features that add up, we can make an extremely efficient vehicle. Braking and shock absorption have always been energy transfer mechanisms that have just turned energy into waste heat before, now, we can do something with that energy and that is amazing!