3 ms·
> I wonder what the record is for a vehicle that can pick up electric energy from a tether/rail/overhead wire...though cables that can carry megawatts of energy
by Someone 4y ago
> I wonder what the record is for a vehicle that can pick up electric energy from a tether/rail/overhead wire...though cables that can carry megawatts of energy are probably pretty heavy.
For a one-off design, those cables could be very short. You could even have a very small pantograph (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantograph_(transport) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantograph_(transport))
I am not sure the end result would be faster, though. You’ll need grip to get up to speed, and starting from a standstill, you won’t get that from aerodynamics. you’ll need mass. Take away the batteries, and you may have to add a similar mass in dead weight (could be used to add a good Faraday cage to protect the driver from mishaps with the electricity supply)
- karamanolev 4y agoI think what you care about is to have enough power to be at the limit of the grip of (all) your tires. If you are heavier, you need more power to reach at point. If you do have enough power, then it's all about maximizing grip - tires, surface, downforce and so on. More mass and more power are roughly equivalent to less mass and less power, if the above holds. Maybe even with less mass it's easier, since you can produce significant downforce with smaller wings.