Can a Car Run Solely on a Battery and Alternator?

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter misskitty
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Alternator Battery
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the feasibility of running a car solely on a battery and an alternator, exploring the implications of energy conservation and the mechanics involved in such a system.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether a car could operate with just a battery and an alternator, suggesting that the alternator could recharge the battery using the motion of the wheels.
  • Another participant argues that this concept would violate the principles of conservation of energy, stating that a battery can only supply as much power as it receives from the alternator, factoring in inefficiencies.
  • A participant reflects on their previous explanation to someone else about the reasons this idea wouldn't work, implying a belief that the argument against it is well-established.
  • Another comment suggests that some individuals may be resistant to accepting the established reasoning against the idea.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express disagreement regarding the feasibility of the concept, with one side asserting it is impossible due to energy conservation laws, while another side questions the persistence of interest in the idea despite these arguments.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference the inefficiencies involved in energy transfer and the mechanics of a drivetrain, indicating that assumptions about energy retrieval and usage are critical to the discussion.

misskitty
Messages
745
Reaction score
0
Could you run a car with just a battery and an alternator by having the alternator recharge the battery by using the motion of the wheels and other parts?

~Kitty
 
Physics news on Phys.org
No, that would be a perpetual motion machine. The battery could only supply the amount of power it gave out to the alternator at the absolute most (real world must take into account inefficiencies). Now if you throw in a drivetrain to power the wheels, power is lost powering the wheels and the power retrieved from those wheels if they could switch to the alternator could only be at the most, the power needed to spin up the wheel.

In other words, conservation of energy says no.
 
Ok, then I was right when I tried to explain to my dad other reasons why it wouldn't work. Since this has been proven it doesn't work, why have people pursued it so vigourously?

~Kitty
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
5K
Replies
7
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
2K
Replies
10
Views
6K
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
5K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K