From: carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU (Carl J Lydick)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics,sci.energy,rec.autos.tech
Subject: Re: Flywheel batteries as EV power source
Date: 28 Dec 1992 20:05:56 GMT
Organization: HST Wide Field/Planetary Camera
Distribution: world
Reply-To: carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU
NNTP-Posting-Host: sol1.gps.caltech.edu

In article <1992Dec22.200442.25999@socrates.umd.edu>, jimbo@socrates.umd.edu (Jim Bogard) writes:
=A thought or 2...
=
=I remember reading an article in Scientific American or somesuch about
=high-tech flywheels.  One of the designs that stands out in my mind
=was one made of wood laminates and would store a large percentage of
=its energy in deformation.  That is, the thing started out in roughly
=a square shape, then as it spun up, it would flex out into the 
=normal circular shape.  Recalling from Physics, as a rotating mass
=moves in a shorter radius, the rotational momentum must remain 
=constant, so the spinning speed increases - allowing one to tap the
=power available in the return to the original shape.
=Plus, it's not unappealing that the thing was constructed partially
=of wood... projectiles would be easier to contain.

Still not listening?  When the flywheel contains enough energy that it's
capable of vaporizing many kilograms of iron, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT THE
FLYWHEEL IS MADE OF!  You've got to account for the release of all that energy.

=Has anyone considered using springs as an alternative to flywheels?
=It seems to me (very topically) that while the same amount of power
=could be stored in a (unknown adjective - the type of spring used
=in clocks, as opposed to your screen door slammer spring) spring,
=it would be much safer.

Gee, power your car with rubber bands!

=There would be no high velocity particles to contend with  -
=In the event of spring breakage, or uncontrolled release, It seems that
=the actual outward force would be fairly easy to contain.

Please answer one question:  When all that energy is released, where does it
go?  Please, remember the law of conservation of energy.  You really have
absolutely *NO* idea how much energy you're talking about storing in the
spring.

=In addition,
=the spring material (spring steel, or some derivative thereof) could
=be relatively light and less prone to cause ballistic injury.
=(At least, I'd prefer it to a flywheel with the same amount of energy!)

Given the amount of energy we're talking about, and the fact that both storage
systems would, in the event of a casastrophic failure, release their energy
quickly enough to vaporize much of themselves, I'm not sure how you'd tell that
it was a spring storage system that had failed rather than a flywheel storage
system.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carl J Lydick | INTERnet: CARL@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU | NSI/HEPnet: SOL1::CARL

Disclaimer:  Hey, I understand VAXen and VMS.  That's what I get paid for.  My
understanding of astronomy is purely at the amateur level (or below).  So
unless what I'm saying is directly related to VAX/VMS, don't hold me or my
organization responsible for it.  If it IS related to VAX/VMS, you can try to
hold me responsible for it, but my organization had nothing to do with it.