Human powered car

Engineer has made a human powered car. Could this be the future, no gas, no fuel, no electric?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7aapY_yMnQ

Here's the webste:

http://www.humancar.com/

It will be interesting to see if this catches on.

I think it's a great idea. It could also eliminate the need to join a health club.

The first video seems to be misleading. It implies that the lone driver got all that distance with only a few strokes of the handle, after which he drove all over the place. I kind of doubt that. It would defy the laws of physics. But the website explains that if you don't want to pump, an electric motor kicks in. That's more like it. It's really an electric car with an onboard manually operated charger.

Al Stevens wrote:

The first video seems to be misleading. It implies that the lone driver got all that distance with only a few strokes of the handle, after which he drove all over the place. I kind of doubt that. It would defy the laws of physics. But the website explains that if you don't want to pump, an electric motor kicks in. That's more like it. It's really an electric car with an onboard manually operated charger.

What an invention. But the car was driven on quiet roads with almost no traffic. How would it do on busy roads? I think it still has a long way to go before people are driving around in man powered cars. When fossil fuels and alternative fuels are near to running out, then we might see more of these on the roads. Why aren't electric and gas cars more common?

In the video, the man pumps it even when he was driving. He pumps it, to get it running and then pumps when it is moving. Rather slow compared to normal cars. In busier roads, the car would seem slow to start and move and be a nightmare to operate. But, it could be the beginning of much more advanced human powered cars in the future.

Quote :

How would it do on busy roads?

Scary. About as scary as riding a bicycle on a busy road (the original human-powered car). Until the day when that's all there is.

Riding bicycles, human power, is increasing. Europe has networks of bicycle paths for safe cycling, but people still use the highways. Human powered cars would certainly be safer than bicycles in vehicle traffic. At least the car takes up enough space to be visible.

We love our Prius and think it is a big step in the right direction. 50 mpg is great.

I just watched a program showing how easy it was to convert a car to run on old, used vegetable oil. That shows a lot more promise.

Ann

Where does this old, used vegetable oil come from? McDonalds!

alice wrote:

Where does this old, used vegetable oil come from? McDonalds!

It comes from old, used vegetables.

Okay! Thanks!

Maybe discarded vegetables?

Actually, the oil in the program was taken from a waste drum behind a bbq restaurant. The car owner took it back to his garage, filtered it a little, then put it into his gas tank. The engine, a converted diesel, started up right away. Apparently the only problem was the smell. I'll take their word that it was a cross between french fries and ribs.

Ann

I'm waiting for the invention of the perpetual motion machine.

What happens if you want to get off?

Ann

Put on the brakes or turn off the engine.

alj wrote:

Actually, the oil in the program was taken from a waste drum behind a bbq restaurant. The car owner took it back to his garage, filtered it a little, then put it into his gas tank. The engine, a converted diesel, started up right away. Apparently the only problem was the smell. I'll take their word that it was a cross between french fries and ribs.

Ann

Good! Now I feel less stupid.

Abe F. March wrote:

Put on the brakes or turn off the engine.

I thought perpetual motion meant it couldn't stop.

Ann

alj wrote:

Abe F. March wrote:

Put on the brakes or turn off the engine.

I thought perpetual motion meant it couldn't stop.

Ann

Ann,

I think you are right!

This thread is a hoot!

My perception of a perpetual motion machine is the engine. It can be controlled by gears and brakes. Not having to feed the engine is the key.

Definitions of perpetual motion on the Web:motion that continues indefinitely without any external source of energy; impossible in practice because of friction
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

You're right DK. I believe lots of people have examined that concept and it hasn't worked - yet.

To Al and Abe

Well, a bicycle travels on the side of a road. Car, buses just over take or pass the bicycle. The bicycle does not affect other vehicles so much. Only for them to avoid any accident with it. But when a bicycle slows down or brakes or stop, a car behind it, would not need to slow down or stop. A human powered car would travel right in front or behind other cars in the flow of traffic. Just think, these human powered cars would be slow to react compared to fuel powered cars. They should show us a video of the car driven in city roads, not in ghost town like roads, with only one or two cars passing by.