I thought of this great idea to make a car that runs on solar powered steam. My friends say it wont work... Why?
2006-08-31 09:27:09 · 11 answers · asked by xavierwold 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
Think outside the box. Given that converting solar to electric to heat (steam) is not too efficient because of the poor efficiency of conversion of solar panels, then why not try SOLAR COOKERS? Think about a nice concave mirror at whose focal point is your water boiler. You can get this baby to bubble real fast depending on the size of your mirror and amount of water, and design of your cylindrical column to maximize the absorbtion of heat. You can surely propel a small wheeled object at a modest speed? Don't think race-cars; instead think powered locomotion.
2006-08-31 13:54:07 · answer #1 · answered by noitall 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The size of the solar panel required to generate enough steam to move a car would be too big.
Where would you place the solar panel? Only so much area on top of a car.
How would you keep it from weighing as much as a steam locomotive?
How would it work on a cloudy day?
What if it started raining?
What would happen when it gets dark?
How long would it need to warm up enough to generate the steam for its power?
But, your idea may work for a stationary power source, possibly powering a small generator, pump, or some sort of equipment.
Don't give up!
2006-08-31 09:43:24 · answer #2 · answered by Mad Jack 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the reason why some may say it won't work is because solar panels don't gather that much energy. A large solar panel what can fit on a car would only produce about ~200 watts and if it is a car the car would require much much more watts(energy) but i also had the same idea somehow it can be acheived. I would be happy to help you with any ideas
livein4jc@yahoo.com
2006-08-31 12:31:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The amount of solar radiation that we receive at the Earth's Orbit is about 1kWatt / m^2 This is under best conditions. So you can see that a car completely covered and converting all energy might get 3kWatts. This is a factor of 10 less than needed for a normal car to run. What about clouds, rain, night, etc?
2006-08-31 09:48:32 · answer #4 · answered by rscanner 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have enough solar panels to make steam in a boiler then you have more than enough to just make a solar powered car. The combined energy losses converting from solar to electric to steam would make it less efficient.
2006-08-31 09:42:47 · answer #5 · answered by frieburger 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It probably won't generate enough power. There's only so much power that can be generated by a square meter of solar panel. It won't boil much water to make steam to run the car on. Plus, what will you do at night?
2006-08-31 09:32:36 · answer #6 · answered by Ralfcoder 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why bother with the steam engine? Solar energy can be converted directly to electricity more efficiently. We already know how to design an electric car.
2006-08-31 12:27:46 · answer #7 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1
2017-02-28 04:45:46 · answer #8 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because it takes a lot of energy to boil water and you aren't going to get that from the amount of sunlight in the footprint of a car.
2006-08-31 09:31:46 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you put a kettle filled with water out in the sun, have you seen it boiling violently by itself ?
2006-08-31 09:42:03 · answer #10 · answered by Just_curious 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋