5 ms·
Air-Powered Wheelchair Goes Like the Wind
- pdelbarba 9y agoYes it recharges quickly, but equipment to refill 1000+psi tanks is not going to be very common (your garage air compressor can do maybe 150psi). For the mass of those tanks, you could put in a lot of lithium cells, which are only increasing in energy density and in a pinch you can plug into any wall outlet to recharge.
- ferongr 9y agoI'd rather sit on 1KW/h worth of lithium cells than 1000 PSI tanks and fittings.
- xyzzy_plugh 9y agoI'm with you. I already have enough fear when I'm pulling a shot of espresso.
- nradov 9y agoScuba divers and firefighters routinely go around with 3500psi tanks. The tanks are fittings are very safe. The only real danger is during the filling operation; there have been some rare explosions due to tank corrosion or incorrect aluminum alloys. So competent fill station operators always check for tank inspection stamps / stickers.
- binarycrusader 9y agoBut it may be perfect for some situations where a high-density energy storage device isn't permissible.
- ferongr 9y ago>a high-density energy storage device Like a tank full of pressurized air?
- Stranger43 9y agoBut thats only because 1KW/h is an abstract figure where 1000PSI pressure resentment something real in your mind. We are surrounded by things that can kill us in any number of ways should, the usually poorly maintained, safeguards fail and yet we only really get scared when the "danger" is something "new" or "rare" where the safeguards are actually inspected/maintained.
- ferongr 9y agoAn exploding tank is way worse than cells in thermal runway.
- Nexxxeh 9y agoI'm not sure I'd agree if I were sat atop the cells with no capability to run away.
- ferongr 9y agoA thermal runway event would be way more gradual and there would be time to react. A rupturing tank would pepper you and everyone within 50 meters with sharpnel. Both are very rare events though but still
- Stranger43 9y agoBut thermal runaway is just the novel and rare way electricity kills. the fact that we are so used to handling lethal levels of electricity that we barely even register electrocution it as a possibility, is exactly the point i am trying to make. a battery capable of driving a 1kw electric engine is can probably also electrocute you.
- rebootthesystem 9y agoI guess you've never seen Lithium cells burn...
- vkou 9y agoWhat is its energy efficiency? How much energy do we lose to waste heat when compressing air to 1000 PSI?
- xutopia 9y agoWhat's the speed and distance you can get on those? What about pricing compared to electric models?