Small solar panel large toy car

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around building a solar-powered toy car and the challenges of providing sufficient power to start and run the DC motor. The creator seeks a solution for energy storage that allows the solar panel to collect energy and release it when adequate power is available, considering the variable angle of sunlight. Attempts with capacitors and batteries have not yielded success, leading to the idea of using multiple capacitors in series. There is curiosity about whether a small solar panel could eventually power a larger vehicle if given enough time to charge. The thread concludes with a reminder to keep questions consolidated within a single discussion.
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I am working on building a solar powered toy car for my own edification. The problem I have is that I do not have enough power to start and continue the dc motor(s). I could add a bigger solar panel but I am trying to think of a way that the solar panel could simply collect the energy, store it, and then release it when the power has become sufficient enough to turn the motor. I would suspect that the car would either move in starts/stops or perhaps get moving and continue moving. either would be fine. I've tried capacitors and 'dead' batteries but nothing is working. I was thinking of adding multiple capacitors in a series. Success would be to demonstrate that a relatively large toy car could be moved by a small solar panel. any thoughts? thank you!
 
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What's the power density of incident radiation versus demand?
 
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I would eventually want (4) motors moving on the road...but right now I'll settle for one motor turning in the almost friction less air. so for that it would be the initial current required to start the motor which, from the amazon specifications, means it would require 200 mAmps. The angle of incidence of light will be entirely dependent upon where the sun is at at any given time of day so it will be variable. To push the thought concept to its extreme...would it be possible to move an actual car off of a 3X3 inch solar panel provided that the solar panel was given enough time to collect sunlight? And if so...how would the solar panel be configured to the battery? I was thinking I could just use a capacitor for the smaller toy car.
 

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