Excellent Commentary .................................................................................... Crooks are everywhere....so beware....and above all ....guard your wallets and minds.... .................................................................................... Looks like Tata Motors signed an agreement in Feb 2007 with the MDI company to further develop the air engine.... http://www.tatamotors.com/our_world/press_releases.php?ID=281&action=Pull ...................................................................................... Tata also has just released the Nano....a $2500 US$ car.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Nano The needs of developing countries demand different mobile solutions than developed countries....and Tata seems to be concentrating some of their efforts in this segment.... However they also just bought Jaquar from Ford which is certainly quite the opposite segment of demand.... Hopefully they will succeed with this one....The MDI version would be perfect for some parts of Latin America....
My gut instinct tells me that it will not be possible to obtain enough energy density in stored air (even if liquified at large energy cost) to make an air powered car practical. However if compressed air is mixed with a combustible vapor, there is a chance. No wait, i think someone has already thought of that. I think it is called the internal combustion engine.
Air? What volume at what pressure? It sounds like a freaking bomb. If a fender-bender takes out a city block its unlikely it would ever be approved for the U.S..
This seems plausible to me... why wouldn't air pressure generate sufficient force? The tank would have to be proven safe of course. IMO, we were lucky that portable energy (oil) was the cheapest energy. Name another product where you get the travel size for less than the bulk price. I don't think we're facing an energy problem... we have plenty of alternatives (eg solar, nuclear, wind). The problem is the corporations don't want to lose their cash cow. And how does the government tax the output of solar panels? A "sun tax" would be a tough sell.
It will never be approved for the u.s. Not because of safety, but to protect the oil behemoths and their profits.