4 ms·
This might not qualify because it was never really in the zeitgeist, but I remember around 2000 that flywheels were going to be an amazing mobile energy storage
by sowbug 3y ago
This might not qualify because it was never really in the zeitgeist, but I remember around 2000 that flywheels were going to be an amazing mobile energy storage mechanism. Your car would rev up a massive disk inside a vacuum, and use its momentum to propel itself in stop and go traffic.
I believe the showstopper was that in even the slightest fender-bender, the flywheel would get off-balance and yeet off in a random direction, causing mayhem and calamity.
- RSHEPP 3y agoIn ME school I was on our human powered vehicle team and we actually designed our bike with a flywheel. I remember using it like one or two times during a race at UF just to give my legs a break. It was a piece of junk bike, but the flywheel was cool.
- consultutah 3y agoIsn’t that exactly what this company is selling? https://www.torus.co/ https://www.torus.co/
- sowbug 3y agoNeat! Hadn't heard of them. I think the company I remember was called Ballard, and their flywheels were intended to drive the vehicle mechanically rather than to generate electricity.
- h0l0cube 3y agoIt sounds unbelievable. > Energy Retention After 10 Years 100% > Potential Storage Capacity 1 day 32 kWh, 10 years 116,800 kWh, 25 years 292,000 kWh What's the down side? Is it expensive? Is it slow to release energy on demand?
- pjc50 3y agoEveryone still slightly worried about what happens if it cracks, and I think the cost of lithium batteries has simply won?
- WirelessGigabit 3y agoFormula 1 KERS can be either flywheel or batteries.