Recent content by wdoe999

  1. W

    How Does Blade Size and Shape Affect Wind Turbine Efficiency?

    Yeah, now that's what I'm talkin bout. Ok, more blades are less efficient. When I look at turbofan jet engines, the bypass fan, compressor stages, and turbine stages look like the above (well a little more sophisticated than "green acres"). Should they be reduced to 3 blades as well?
  2. W

    How Does Blade Size and Shape Affect Wind Turbine Efficiency?

    Hi - I know someone must have thought of this already, so maybe you can help me understand. When I look at some of these modern wind turbines, the blades seem massively long. I see this lumbering set of blades moving slowly and I imagine that the bulk of the wind does not even touch the...
  3. W

    Cheaper Electric Vehicle Battery?

    If they could just use the current battery chemistry and just get the cost down to a reasonable price, I wouldn't mind spending a reasonable amount every 5 (or even 2) years to recycle the battery. They could really get economies of scale of they standardized on a battery that is independent...
  4. W

    Cheaper Electric Vehicle Battery?

    Ah good point. I'm hoping that if cooling spaces or channels are needed, they would be incorporated into the mold of the case. I emphasize "mold" meaning that it is a one-shot process and it does not require manual labour to drill holes or inert parts etc.
  5. W

    Cheaper Electric Vehicle Battery?

    Not quite. The way I understand AAA and D cells...they are both single 1.5V cells. The larger one just has more capacity. Hey, if they can make a EV motor that will run on a single cell, then it would work. But I suspect you are going to need both higher voltage and capacity, hence you would...
  6. W

    Cheaper Electric Vehicle Battery?

    I notice that electric vehicle batteries (such as the one in the Tesla) are made of a bahzillion little batteries. I also notice that electric vehicle batteries seem to be absurdly expensive. A small battery is made of a case, some metals and chemicals. Can they not scale up this process...
  7. W

    Light, refelection, transparency, direction?

    Thanks. In the FAQ I like the part about the "collective behaviour" of the atoms interacting with the photons (makes sense and explains a few things). BTW - I know that scientific proof doesn't come from a popularity contest, but... It is curious that a Google search doesn't turn up too...
  8. W

    Light, refelection, transparency, direction?

    Hi I have done a lot of digging on the net for some answers about light interaction with solids and can't find some answers to some questions. 1. How does light pass STRAIGHT through a transparent object? I see a lot of references say that the electrons don't have available energy...
  9. W

    How Would You Feel If High School Students Beat You in a Math Contest?

    I hate to generalize, but I have found that good marks on math tests may not necessarily indicate a good overall intelligence, or the ability to use logic and critical thinking. I have known a several people that know what was taught to them in math class, and can crunch math problems like a...
  10. W

    How do gyroscopic forces affect a bicycle's stability?

    Here's a link with some info about the British Scientist who made the URB (Unridable Bicycle). http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Campus/1832/pyfair.html (hey, it's on the internet so it has too be true, lol). Another way to demonstrate that gyroscopic forces have virtually no effect is...
  11. W

    How do gyroscopic forces affect a bicycle's stability?

    I had interpreted your original question to mean a bike that has a rider. I see you are asking about a riderless bike. The previous poster is correct that without a rider, the wheel caster becomes the dominant stability factor by causing the front wheel to automatically steer so that the...
  12. W

    How do gyroscopic forces affect a bicycle's stability?

    I know I'll start a controversy, but here goes. From what I can gather, gyroscopic forces play no (insignificantly small) role in keeping a bike up/stable. This is demonstrated in 2 examples. 1. A person can ride a ski-bob (has skis instead of wheels) as well as a bike. 2. I recall a...
Back
Top