Is it possible to create a self-chargeable Electric Car?

Question

My idea is to assemble in a normal car, a generator (turbine) to produce energy to recharge the Ion-lithium batteries, and generators to use the rotation of the wheels and axles to produce more energy, and install solar (light) pannels on the bonnet and trunk of the car. This vehicle would not need to charge from main sockets or need to refuel. How can it be done?

Answer 1

Well, an alternator in a car keeps the battery charged, so maybe with something lke compact generators driven from each wheel, plus a turbine and solar panels, I'd say you have a pretty good idea. If you're planning on building on, try it on something like an R/C car first, and proceed from there.

If I'm not mistaken, there have been cars built that run solely on solar power, so having that during the day while the generators charge up another back-up battery for night driving, it should be possible. This is assuming that the car would be intended to be driven for a constant 24 hrs.

And you don't have to worry much about the sky clouding up;  last I checked, it's brighter outside on a cloudy day than it is in an office, yet solar powered calculators work indoors. So, the clouds wouldn't stop a solar panel from working.

Now, combining these ideas with comfort..well, that's another story....

Answer 2

You cannot. Heat, friction, etc and the laws of physics all mandate that you cannot create a self-charging system.

That's like hooking a generator to a motor, and hooking the output of the generator to the input of the motor and giving it a spin. You can never get the system to 'self run'. It's called a perpetual motion machine and it is impossible in this universe under the laws of Thermodynamics.

As stated above, you can use 'regenerative braking' to recover SOME of the kinetic energy to convert back into electricity to charge the batteries. Some even have a  huge flywheel that spins up and is used to charge the battery when sitting at a light or at 'idle' for a while.

Even with solar panels it would still not be considered 'self-charging- as you need the SUN to do the 'charging'. The fact that the solar panels are mounted ON the car, I suppose, could mean that it does not have to plug into the grid.

But the wheels and axles could NOT produce more energy than it consumes or even an equal amount. Again, heat losses, fricton, all contribute to losses in the system (treat the car as a 'closed' system, and  you will have to toss out the solar panels).....

Answer 3

conservation of energy means you only get out what you put in.

You cannnot get energy out enough to charge it to make it move - that is perpetual energy and is logically impossible.

The only thing you can do is run it off solar power, but then it would stop on a cloudy day or night so impractical for use.

Answer 4

http://www.solarvan.co.uk/

Answer 5

Remember to earth the bugger..

Answer 6

You didn't include a nuclear battery in the mix.   Add that in to trickle charge a battery 24/7 for 30 years and you might have something going for you.

Answer 7

Solar powered cars have been built, and they do work, but they aren't cheap.  They're purely experimental right now, and they'll probably stay that way for at least another half century, if they're ever used on the road.

Answer 8

It can't.

The best you can do is use a regenerative braking system (where braking takes energy and recharges the battery).

You cannot have a perpetual motion system, and solar panels would not provide enough energy to drive the car even with regenerative braking.

Answer 9

You are basically making a solar powered car. If you look into solar powered car competitions you will see that they are for the most part pretty impractical.

Answer 10

A very noble ideal but completely impossible.  Your first idea is to install a generator to charge the batteries, have you thought how you will power the generator?  Generators need fuel to produce electricity which has to be replaced.

The main things you have to overcome are frictional losses in bearings and wheels and drag due to air.  Once you've overcome these problems you can start thinking about perpetual motion.