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Flywheels

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10/4/04 Alt Energy. Flywheels. We need to use the energy we have now to find new energy sources.

"A flywheel, in essence is a mechanical battery - simply a mass rotating about an axis. Flywheels store energy mechanically in the form of kinetic energy. They take an electrical input to accelerate the rotor up to speed by using the built-in motor, and return the electrical energy by using this same motor as a generator. Flywheels are one of the most promising technologies for replacing conventional lead acid batteries as energy storage systems."

• Blogit: In 1974 I learned that fused silica had the potential of storing kinetically over 30 watt-hours of energy per cubic inch of material.
• NASA: "At the present time, fused silica flywheels appear to offer the least massive energy storage system, storing about 0.87 kWhr/kg of flywheel"
• High tensile strength material of a fused silica flywheel allows it to be rotated very fast without flying apart
• Fused silica is a non crystalline(glass) form of silicon dioxide (quartz, sand). Also called vitreous silica: Glass consisting of almost pure silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ).
• For flywheels you want the lightest strongest material you can find.

Jack Bitterly has an idea, a car that runs on flywheel power. One blog said: "Mr. Bitterly designed an electric car (with GM) that had an electric motor incoporated into all four wheels. It was a screamer! He has created another company in California called US Flywheel Systems."

Check out Ford's Synergy 2010 which includes flywheel and other energy storage.

Another article says, "He's been called a classic paranoid inventor. Also a genius. By most accounts he's a brilliant, all-American engineer. During World War II, Bitterly was part of a top-secret Lockheed team that designed, built, and delivered the xp-80, an experimental jet fighter..."

Many are involved in research, and there are some large finished products, but where can I buy a little flywheel battery? Do I have to make my own?

 

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