Alternative Fuel: The Air Car

A French inventor has developed a piston engine that operates much like an internal combustion engine but it uses compressed air as the force to push the pistons. It get's 120 miles on a tank of air and will refill at gas stations with compressors (the fast way, 3 minutes) or by plugging in the on board compressor (the slow way, 4 hours) The hybrid version uses gas to run the on-board compressor. One tank of gas can then get the car from New York to LA.

Meanwhile, an inventor in Australia has created an air powered rotary engine that also uses the air to create a cushion that drastically reduces friction on the moving parts. It is also incredibly small. He first created it for forklifts and golf carts but it is also viable in cars and other motorized vehicles.

Imagine the possibilities! I wonder how long these motors would make an electric generator last with the gas being used to compress the air? Or what if the onboard compressor used the energy from breaking to put more air in the tank, like hybrids do with electricity? What if the motion of the car tirned a wind turbine attached to the compressor?

News: Water As Fuel

Here is an interesting YouTube upload of a local news story about a man who has put together a hydrogen fuel cell that breaks down water. There is a bit of controversy in the YouTube comments, as to the authenticity of this technology but I think it is, at very least, worth seeing the kinds of concepts that are out there.

Hat Tip to Color Miracles for the video