Cebuanos invent energy self-reliant vehicle

John, second law of thermodynamics, where is the energy really coming from without figures on range and so on it is hard to judge?

Also this has to be a typo they have to mean light not heat. Solar implies light not heat.

Most other energy generation mechanisms convert some kind of energy gradient to electric or mechanical power, if the gradient in this case is large enough then yes I am impressed if not it is an interesting toy, solar is all about durability.

Regards mechanical energy on a tiny scale I love this, I have recently developed a passion for watches and in particular Seiko watches also I have always loved Asian technology in general, my cars were all Honda all the nice ones like the S2000 and the Accord Coupe.

So on to small scale electro-mechanical Seiko do a range of Kinetic watches that are like automatics, powered by movement, however the movement is translated into a 100,000 RPM dynamo by the mechanical's of the actual physical movement and the energy generated is pumped into a rechargeable battery that should last at least twenty years, if you put the watch down and leave it alone it will reset itself to the correct time and date for up to four years.

I mention this only because it is relevant to the discussion about recovery of energy from the local environment, if they have done something special in transport terms then WOW I will be really impressed but I suspect it will be very limited in scope, a kinetic based pedal movement in terms of basic travel works better on a bicycle in my opinion, energy requirements cannot be escaped all one can really do is improve efficiency.

Really hope they have improved the efficiency enough to matter.

Yeah I remember the trams on the IOM they still run a few horses in Manila for the tourists at Intramuros essentially chemical energy (food) required to run the horses plus a lot of mucking out

Given that a good solar panel about 5ft tall by a couple of feet wide will generate about 250 watts on a good day and if there were a windmill on board the machine then I suppose it might generate a little more, so it's potentially getting up to the one horsepower level. However I can't help but think that putting a sail on a pedal cart would pretty much achieve the effect they are looking for

Given the general climate patterns over there and the fairly consistent length of the day, I do think that they should exploit solar as much as possible but it's still an expensive technology for them, the panels for example have to be combined with the Pilkington Activ glass and that makes them even more expensive, given the pollution and heavy deposits of gunge on every visible surface as a result of particulates getting washed out of the air, they would really need the Activ glass for their solar panels.

It would have been funny if that had been the one I picked up recently, mine was manufactured 10 years back however it's definitely not engraved, the case is also stainless steel nice weight, the glass is sapphire and absolutely perfect after 10 years, got it for a steal on ebay 75 quid.

Part of what I liked about it was the case and bracelet are reminiscent of some of the art of H.R. Giger, just a hint of his style.

I know that one, very nice watch similar to mine, yes it's one of the Kinetic Auto Relay models looks like the SMA003 which has the 5J22 movement, was almost the same as the 5J32 movement in mine only difference was the offset date as far as I know, very accurate watches too, mine has gained 8 seconds in 2 months but like your old one will need reset tonight as it's not a Perpetual calendar movement, still tempted by one of the more upmarket Perpetual calendar Seiko's particularly in Titanium as I already have Seiko Chronograph that's Titanium incredibly light and a lovely metal to touch.

A Titanium watch should be one that you could wear it is a totally biologically inert material however your rash may well have been simply due to trapped sweat and the change in material might not help.

Me I didn't wear a watch for years and years just recently acquired an interest again but as ever I once I got interested I wanted the best technology rather than the best brand name so no Tag Heuer or Breitling for me, or Rolex for that matter Would not mind an Omega Speedmaster but that's more out of sentimental interest as my dad had Omega watches when I was a kid and also as they made the original moon-watch for the Apollo program.

I can't find anything on that Howerd, Bulova and Omega had been in competition in the early years to be the watch used by NASA for the lunar program, and it was the Omega worn by Buzz Aldrin that actually made it out of the Lunar lander, Armstrong left his inside because some electronic timer was not working properly. Bulova later made a big point about trying to get their watches used on the final moon mission.

Ah just found it Bulova Accutron was used in the spacecraft instrument panels not in actual wrist watches, so that would be one of the the ones that failed in the Lander and why Armstrong left his Omega inside

:repost:

Sorry I hijacked the thread John, was just interested in the clever energy recovery mechanism in a small device in the context of energy recovery and use in large machines, these guys here do commercial battery based bikes and trikes already http://www.batribike.com/see-the-bikes the problem would be price and the real problem for Filipino's would be the cost of charging as electricity is so expensive over there, fixed windmill and solar chargers would be a really good idea in the Phils if the price of components could be brought down and if battery tech improved a bit more.

It would still be interesting to get some more info on this Cebu invention but it does sound a bit Heath Robinson.

Yeah that's a thought.

When wind was mentioned though I really hoped they were not trying to get additional power recovery from the breeze generated from the forward motion of the vehicle as that's the sort of thing that perpetual motion nuts have tried in the past

Sounds like a lot of hot air to me.......