Comments on: Future car: A magnet-powered hamster wheel?

By: Miramon

Miramon — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:10:05 +0000

Good luck shielding the magnetic fields away from electronics and humans. And that doesn't look like an example of 80s design. It looks more like 30s design to me.

By: GOPer

GOPer — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:50:24 +0000

I for one welcome our Sith overlords!

By: don11

don11 — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:15:32 +0000

I like the version in the South Park episode better. Seems a lot more fun.

By: Jifdc

Jifdc — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:26:47 +0000

I admit, it may not be on the green side of things. I guess the claim that it would run whisper-quiet could factor in a few points but I can't help but wonder if its efficiency would better compared to a normal 4 wheel electric car? The concept may seem far-fetched by some, but…. you have to admit… it looks pretty darn cool!

By: Magnet Mogul

Magnet Mogul — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:46:13 +0000

This is odd… Most of the mention of magnets that I've seen in the cleantech space has been by crackpots that don't understand that a magnet is very similar to a spring. It stores energy – it doesn't generate it. An electric motor – in every electric vehicle – uses a magnetic field. However, the original energy source is electricity, and 50% of the electric grid in the US is…coal.

By: theBike45

theBike45 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:44:44 +0000

What's so damn green about it? It still uses electricty, doesn't it? Electricity, in case you have been living on Mars, is produced by fossil fuel.

By: Clint Tseng

Clint Tseng — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:13:52 +0000

Sure… but too bad the “science” behind it is based in less reality than the aforementioned Star Wars. This vehicle can't exist.