I was wondering if anyone has made an electric engine for aircraft yet? Or is it still to early for us to worry about electric aircraft yet we havnt evan mastered electric cars?
If someone has made an electric engine for aircraft; does anyone know where I could buy one and how much they cost?
2006-09-18 11:19:18 · 7 answers · asked by Maurice H 6 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Yes. It is more common in model aeroplanes and in gliders powered for example by solar cells on the wings but here is an article about Boings prototype full size aircraft:
http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/stories/2001/11/26/daily17.html
As you can see it is developing technology. Conventional batteries are too heavy but fuel cells and solar cells may offer an answer for some cases.
Search the web here and you will find many more :)
http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=electric+powered+aircraft&spell=1
Have fun!
2006-09-18 11:23:52 · answer #1 · answered by Tammi J 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are many electric powered aircraft in all sizes but I will try to narrow the question as to what I think you're alluding to. Passenger aircraft need plenty of horsepower to overcome drag and provide thrust, this isn't hard on a small scale but at the larger scale the source of power is the problem. Batteries are very heavy and at what point does the weight of the batteries overtake the power produced by an electric motor. There are some pretty powerful electric motors out there but the trade off is weight, I am sure somebody could produce a full sized aircraft large enough to carry a passenger but for how long? Solar power doesn't create enough energy to be practical and current battery technology isn't advanced far enough to produce a lightweight battery with a high efficiency. Granted it can be done but at what cost and is it practical?
2006-09-18 11:39:36 · answer #2 · answered by Brian B 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They make MODEL airplanes that have electric engines, but current wet-cell battery technology is just too heavy for use on a human-sized airplane. To put a comparison, the energy storage capacity (by weight) of a battery is from 100 to 400 times less than gasoline. So how many planes do you think would fly if they had to carry a hundred times as much gas to get anywhere?
2006-09-18 11:36:32 · answer #3 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I believe this concept should be seriously explored for the planet Venus. Solar cells would soak up twice as much electricity there due to the doubly strong insolation (sunlight) there, and the atmosphere is denser there also. What a great idea.
2006-09-20 08:16:35 · answer #4 · answered by Sciencenut 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
N.A.S.A has done some work on ion engines ,very low power but excellent for long missions and use very little fuel. The particles are electronically accelerated and the energy is the velocity squared times the mass.
2006-09-18 13:01:04 · answer #5 · answered by JOHNNIE B 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cripes, the Boeing 777 has two massive GE engines:
GE90-110B1 with 110,100 lb thrust
You can run around inside these things. Can you imagine these babies running off a battery?
2006-09-18 12:54:14 · answer #6 · answered by nick s 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
oil companies will never let it happen... ever
2006-09-18 11:34:25 · answer #7 · answered by tylermyhre 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋