3 ms·
Flywheels. What's the state of the tech for that? Surly that's where we should be developing. Last I heard they're very efficient. In theory it has no ceiling
by swayvil 4y ago
Flywheels. What's the state of the tech for that?
Surly that's where we should be developing. Last I heard they're very efficient.
In theory it has no ceiling, storagewise. And it certainly isn't constrained by a chemical reaction.
The only downside is keeping it from blowing up. Right?
- petermcneeley 4y agoMy friend you have come to the right place. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34079497 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34079497
- fuoqi 4y agoAre you suggesting to use flywheels as an energy source in EVs??? There is a heap of issues with this idea, the main ones: - They are VERY heavy. Typical energy density for flywheels is 10-40 kJ/kg (if you account for the whole flywheel), while Li-ion batteries and gasoline store 300-1000 kJ/kg and 46700 kJ/kg respectively (the latter does not account for ICE efficiency). - They are relatively big, since you can store more energy with a bigger diameter (limited by material's strength-to-weight ratio). - Flywheel is a big gyroscope. You do not want to rotate it around while it spins.
- swayvil 4y agoYes, I understand the issues. They've used them in busses. Higher speed means more energy storage and ness necessary weight. Gyroscopic action can be handled with gimbals. Etc. So back to my question.
- Gordonjcp 4y agoHugely inefficient things, maintenance nightmare, no useful capacity, loads of really weird esoteric bits required to make them work at all.