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Use magnets in roadways and pick-up coils in cars to help recharge batteries in hybrids and plug-ins.

by Ira Sorkin | 10:32 am April 18th, 2011 | 13 Comments »

Categories: Adaptation, Clean Tech, Efficiency, Electric Cars, Engineering, Green Communities, Green Living, Hybrid Vehicles, Renewable Energy, Transportation

Tags: Clean Tech, Efficiency, electric cars, Green, green roads, hybrids, plug-ins, recharging stations, renewable energy, transportation

Magnetic bars across roadways and pick-up coils in bottoms of cars. Coils of wire cutting magnetic lines of force generates electricity to recharge battery packs. No need to stop at recharging stations. Charge while you drive. Magnets can be installed during normal roadway repairs. At first, best for hybrids because they can run on unmagnetized roads. Should be possible to upgrade existing hybrids and plug-ins to make use of this rolling-recharge system. Probably best on freeways to start. No doubt there will be technical problems to overcome (aren’t there always?), but it seems to be as viable an idea as setting up recharging stations all over and converting vehicles to plug-ins. I would very much appreciate any feedback on this.

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13 Responses to “Use magnets in roadways and pick-up coils in cars to help recharge batteries in hybrids and plug-ins.”

On April 25th, 2011 at 6:02 pm Ron Garza Said:
“No doubt there will be technical problems to overcome”. Yes, like magnetic drag. The resistance on the coil would be greater than the energy induced. In other words, this will never work as intended — although it would be a great help for slowing vehicles down when driving downhill in mountainous terrain. Very limited market. Forget it.
On April 26th, 2011 at 6:54 pm Suni Buni Said:
Cutting throught those lines of force will need additional power from car, You can’t get something for nothing.
On June 4th, 2011 at 6:55 pm Brian Said:
This is stealing energy from the cars driving over it.
If you ever do it to me I will call the police. Fool.
On June 5th, 2011 at 6:34 pm ira Said:
Brian:
I appreciate your feelings, but I would also appreciate it
if you were a bit more civil about it as other posters
have been.
Otherwise, as they say, “It seemed like a good idea
at the time.”
On June 5th, 2011 at 6:47 pm ira Said:
I’m no expert (obviously), but there must be some way to
get extra range out of electric cars other than bigger
batteries or a fuel-burning engine for recharging.

Perhaps (just brain-storming again) some kind of
atomic heating device (maybe using spent atomic
fuel) heating up a stack of thermocouples to generate
electricity or to heat ambient air to run a turbine.

There has just got to be some way to use existing
technology and materials to do this without
“reinventing the wheel”. Most great inventions seem
to have come from people who have looked at things
from another angle and done things which seemed
impossible in the past. The only sure way to fail
is to just not try.
On June 27th, 2011 at 11:12 pm Larry Said:
Tesla came up with a way of powering an electric car for as long as you want. Why do you think the govt took his papers when he died? But we’re putting it back together, they can’t keep it back much longer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmOH6mDFwnc&NR=1&feature=fvwp
On December 13th, 2011 at 4:36 pm Susanna, PF Web Maven Said:
Looks like they’ve started to work this idea out over in Utah: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=16193664. Thanks for submitting this Ira!
On December 13th, 2011 at 11:08 pm Ira Said:
Thanks, Susanna. I was trying to get something for nothing by using
magnets in the roads and pick-up coils in the cars (something like those
flashlight you shake to charge them). What I forgot is that any kind
of generator needs power to run it.

This idea in Utah uses induction to transfer power from one coil
to another. This has been used in transformers for a long time
and also, as I understand it, in radio antennas in cars. The antenna
is outside the rear window and the coil connected to the radio is on
the inside. There is no physical contact.

I wonder if using coils of varying construction in vehicles to change output voltage and amperage would aid in matching road input to different vehicle system configurations.
On December 14th, 2011 at 7:22 pm Susanna, PF Web Maven Said:
Hey Ira –

We’ll keep looking for more ideas/experts in this area. Hopefully we’ll attract some people from my recent blog post on electric vehicles on the Huffington Post!

Here’s the link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susanna-murley/5-ideas-to-chargeup-the-e_b_1149562.html

Thanks again!

Susanna
On December 22nd, 2011 at 1:32 am Rob Said:
When I was a kid, in the 60′s, we had Lionel electric trains and Aurora electric cars. Both used DC from the rails. Only highways and main roads
to start with. Power it with solar paint and vertical wind turbines in the appropriate locations.
On December 22nd, 2011 at 1:52 pm ira Said:
Rob: Good idea. Powering it with solar is a thought, but as usual the
problem comes at night. Battery technology is coming along, but not
quite up to what you have in mind. Wind is good but only in some areas.
Vertical turbines are best in my view. They can be placed on the roofs of
buildings five stories tall or more. The wind always seems to be blowing
up there. I think you are quite correct that we need a combination of
the two. We also should probably tap the grid in some areas.
These days we can make good use of politicians. Those who are
bright enough can power the solar. Those who are so windy that they
only know how to argue can power the turbines.
On December 22nd, 2011 at 5:15 pm Ira Sorkin Said:
Another thought: If we are using “wipers” on cars as pickups for
the electricity there would be a problem of wear on the “rails” and
the “wipers”. There may also be a problem if the system gets wet.
That would also be a problem for the coil/transformer system if there
are cracks or potholes in the pavement…not to mention earthquakes
which would be a problem in any case.
On December 28th, 2011 at 10:40 pm Ira Sorkin Said:
Here is something that might work much better than magnets in
roadways. Use the energy generated from the motions of vehicles to create the energy to recharge the vehicles. I don’t know how much this would help but anything is better than nothing. But as usual the upfront cost of installing the system would be a problem unless some of the more wealthy among us ould be willing to invest in a better world for all of us.

http://planetforward.org/idea/piezoelectric-energy/