Slog

News & Arts

Line Out

Music & the City
at Night

« The Protest Artist | To Avoid Rape, "Try not to show fea… »

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Transportation Wind Car

Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 8:29 AM

A lightweight carbon-fiber car that runs on lithium-ion batteries and a portable wind turbine has just traveled 3,000 miles across Australia—and it used only $15 worth of electricity. The car, dubbed the Wind Explorer, was designed by New Jersey-based Evonik Industries to demonstrate the potential of the company’s developments in battery power and lightweight materials.

Yesterday, I read that it took the Soviets 17 or so attempts to land on Venus. And what did they discover? Venus, our planet's twin, is essentially hell. But who cares about the outcome, who cares that the place is uninhabitable. What's important is that a team of determined/brilliant scientists and engineers were able to land on another world. Humans will be lost if, as capitalism always insists, everything we do has to have some kind of purpose or a value that can be exploited, be translated directly into market values. This wind car is great not because we can capitalize on it in some way, but because it can travel a great distance on wind. That's it and nothing more. We must never forget that it is a core part of our species-being to be playful. Play is our only true spirituality.

FacebookShare

Comments (8) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

Neat, but completely useless in a practical world.

What happens when you have a dozen cars running on this? Wont the sails get tangled?

Posted by Kinison

on February 13, 2013 at 8:52 AM

sign or comment my Petition to the White House..Build The Hydrogen Economy:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitio…

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on February 13, 2013 at 9:06 AM

I often wondered why electric cars don't have wind generators built in the front. It could look like a foil.

Posted by Pope Peabrain on February 13, 2013 at 9:11 AM

#3

Because perpetual motion doesn't exist?

Posted by Supreme Ruler Of The Universe

on February 13, 2013 at 9:14 AM

@4 No, but efficiency does.

Posted by Pope Peabrain on February 13, 2013 at 9:23 AM

For wide open spaces, crossing a windy continent, here's the lower-tech version:

http://blog.greenbird.co.uk/wp-content/u…

Posted by Brooklyn Reader on February 13, 2013 at 10:18 AM

@5: Good name choice. The additional resistance from turning the generator would be greater than the power generates. That's what @4 was saying.

And dear God, but Mudede is hitting new levels of nonsensical. A commercial, capitalist company does a publicity stunt to draw attention to their technology (and to refine their technology for sail) and the Mudede thinks it's a perfect example of whimsy and repudiation of purpose?

Posted by also on February 13, 2013 at 10:51 AM