Biofuels phail! >:}

[Omega]

Might makes right.  Evolution says so.   

*cough* dinosaurs *cough*

[Reese Tora]

the aircar is an ingenious idea i cant figure out why nobody thought of it either- your 'gas tank' is actually three large compressed air tanks under the car, and the car runs on compressed air being released into the engine.

If I remember correctly, mythbusters tried to do so, and managed to move a boat only a few meters with dual 65 litre tanks

If I remember correctly, the mythbusters were using the air as a jet for propulsion; the air car (they already exist) uses a pneumatically powered engine that translates the energy of the compressed air more efficiently to the drive shaft(think of a jack hammer/air-hammer, as sued in construction/demolition, it uses a carefully designed pistona rangement to slam a bit with enough power to shatter rocks and cement)

Of course, my complaint is that avery venue I've seen examining it makes the mistake of thinking that the air engine could turn an alternator to power a compressor to charge the air tanks and... you see where this is going? yeah, perpetual motion deosn't work, kthxbai.

[Brunhidden]

however the aircar does have a small gas engine on it for emergencies- the gas motor powering a compressor is far more efficent in miles per gallon in the end then a normal gas motor would be.

the numbers i had heard was that one tank of air and one emergency tank of gas could last someone from new york to san francisco, with the motor kicking in just long enough to refill the air.

[Valynth]

My two cents:  Anything that's powered by steam can be powered by compressed air.  Infact in order to get anything from compressed air you'd have to use a steam engine only instead of using the pressure of expanding water vapor as a power source you use the stored pressure in the air tank.

[Alondro]

Might makes right.  Evolution says so.   

*cough* dinosaurs *cough*

The asteroid was stronger.  So it won.

[Stygian]

My two cents:  Anything that's powered by steam can be powered by compressed air.  Infact in order to get anything from compressed air you'd have to use a steam engine only instead of using the pressure of expanding water vapor as a power source you use the stored pressure in the air tank.

My two irrelevant cents: The steam engine - certain steam turbines more specifically - is the only type of mobile engine developed so far that is capable of rivaling high-tech, high-efficiency common-rail diesel engines in terms of fuel efficiency, both nearing the 50% mark in terms of how much of the fuel's energy is actually used for power and propulsion.

[Valynth]

My two cents:  Anything that's powered by steam can be powered by compressed air.  Infact in order to get anything from compressed air you'd have to use a steam engine only instead of using the pressure of expanding water vapor as a power source you use the stored pressure in the air tank.

My two irrelevant cents: The steam engine - certain steam turbines more specifically - is the only type of mobile engine developed so far that is capable of rivaling high-tech, high-efficiency common-rail diesel engines in terms of fuel efficiency, both nearing the 50% mark in terms of how much of the fuel's energy is actually used for power and propulsion.

The steam engine also has the advantage for being able to use anything that generates heat as fuel.  Infact all powerplants use the exact same engine, but the only differences are in the the types of fuel they use.  Diesel engines, however, can only run on diesel.

Infact, back when tractors were powered by steam most farmers would take the harvested cornstalks and use those for fuel.  Unfortunately such tractors are also VERY dangerous.