Chosen Design: 1963 Volkwagen Beetle
Life Pattern: "Life Runs on Sugar".
How Does My Car Run on Sugar?
On the surface, this question seems pretty straight forward. Cars run on sugar, because they run on petroleum based products. These fossil fuels were once (a very long time ago) organisms that received their energy from the sugars created through photosynthesis. This energy is then "burned off" in the petrol engine in the following process:
"There is a very simple way to remember how a petrol engine works. It uses a cycle of 4 strokes commonly referred to as ‘suck, squeeze, bang, and blow’.A mixture of petrol and air is drawn into the cylinder (suck). The mixture is compressed by the movement of the piston (squeeze). The compressed mixture is then ignited by a spark (bang). Finally, the waste gases are forced out of the cylinder (blow) and into the exhaust system."
(http://www.kent4x4offroading.co.uk/petrol_engine_workings.htm)
However, this process deflects from the natural norm. This is because unlike in natural beings, the "sugar" used to power a car undergoes a lot of processing, changes of state (allowing for energy losses) as well as millions of years, from start to finish. Many organisms, efficiently, either create their own sugars or generate their energy by consuming other organisms. The beetle cannot.
While converting the car to electricity may cut down a few complex steps in the energy consumption timeline of vehicle fuel usage, this could only be sustainable if the electricity was being sourced from renewable sources (wind / solar / tidal / hydroelectric). This is not always viable.
In order to improve the way that the car incorporates the life pattern of "Running on Sugar", it would have to be able to run off a direct, unrefined sugar source, e.g. loading potatoes into a shoot where they are then churned up and "digested" as an energy source for the car to run on.
Alternatively, we would have to find a way for the car to produce its own sugar through photosynethesis. What if a car could be covered with a fine mold or fungus like substance (moss?) that could photosynthesise for its own organism as well as fueling the car? This would make it sustainable; life-friendly; diverse and versatile (think different plantlife for different climates and environments); and adaptable. I am not too sure about resilience. How would travelling and being exposed to wind affect the car's energy producing plant-carpet? Probably not too well, but it is unlikely that such a "green" car would be able to reach particularly high speeds ( I mean, how much "sugar" can a layer of moss really produce?).
Having a "self-sustainable" vehicle would be the epitome of cool!!! Imagine never having to stop for petrol again, life would become one big road-trip!!
Potentially, a sensational idea!
Practically, we have a long, dark and bumpy road ahead us before we can get to a solution.
No comments:
Post a Comment