2 ms·
Still, if containment is violated somehow, it's a LOT of power for fire/explosion. These flywheels are much smaller, by comparison. The tank of gas in a car pr
by beat 8y ago
Still, if containment is violated somehow, it's a LOT of power for fire/explosion. These flywheels are much smaller, by comparison.
The tank of gas in a car probably has over 400kwh of energy. How much will these flywheels contain, considering a full charge for an electric car is on the order of 100kwh (electric cars are more efficient than internal combustion)? The energy of two or three tanks of gasoline is enough to get several charges out before needing to spin up the flywheel again.
- e12e 8y agoBut a nearly "empty" flywheel is a lot less dangerous than a "full" one. While a full gas tank, even if cracked open and lit on fire, would probably burn, not explode. I imagine seeing a flywheel leap out of the ground and short through the foundations of a skyscraper...
- beat 8y agoThat gets back to my original point, though - we know from the start the maximum power of the flywheel. Putting enough reinforced concrete above it to keep it from penetrating in case of catastrophic failure is a straight-up engineering problem.