Wind generators on electric cars

[WilbyInebriated]

You cant be serious?

The wind resistance from the wind generator would have a diminishing return.  IE it takes much more wind to generate the force to move the car that speed. This is why cars get better gas mileage at 50 than they do at 80. The wind resistance eats it.

you can't be serious?
i wouldn't say it's just the wind resistance. gearing has a lot to do with it.
here's what happens when you actually build...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOSFpnbnGjY

[nightlife]

WilbyInebriated, that was a good find and I want to thank you for posting the link to it.

[JamesThomas]

I think this is what you're looking for. No details on if he has to top up the batteries from other sources. I'd suspect he'd have to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkcn8ZkvKKc&feature=related
-Steve
http://rimstar.org

It would seem that any electricity generated via the cars movement and then used to move the car is a losing game due to friction/energy/heat loss, so says the first law of thermodynamics.

Now if the electricity was generated not by the movement of the car but rather an external source of wind energy...say a head wind of ten miles an hour, you may get enough energy generated to defeat the friction of the ten mile an hour head wind...but I doubt it has all those blades turning is a tremendous drag which look to be interrupting any smooth low friction surface original designed into the car. I'm afraid this thing has no viable workability outside of a cartoon. But then, that's what my parents said about me.

Better to have a wind generator at home which charges an extremely arrow-dynamic low friction electric vehicle. Though I must say I like the little van in the video Lakes posted. Seems a nice platform for experimentation and bopping about town.

Actually my feelings are that the way too go green right now is home made wind-turbines and solar hot water heating. Both very low tech and inexpensive, and efficient. We get too easily caught up in the fancy-dance stuff.

james

[nightlife]

JamesThomas, wind generators designed in electric powered cars may help add efficiency if designed properly, I too doubt they could be used as a main power source but I believe they may be able to help prolong the main sources life.

It would make for a very interesting experiment as well as a interesting prototype.

[Steven Dufresne]

In that case... expanding the concept from propellers, there are Theo Jansen's wind driven walking machines:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/theo_jansen_creates_new_creatures.html
-Steve
http://rimstar.org