Re: Open-Source Armchair Critics At It Again

The Natural Philosopher <[email protected]> Wed, 29 Jul 2026 19:20:58 +0100
Newsgroups comp.os.linux.misc
Organization A little, after lunch
Message-ID <[email protected]>
On 29/07/2026 19:15, rbowman wrote:
> On Wed, 29 Jul 2026 19:13:47 +0200, Carlos E. R. wrote:
> 
>> On 2026-07-28 17:22, Rich wrote:
>>> c186282 <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> On 7/27/26 00:42, rbowman wrote:
>>>>> On Sun, 26 Jul 2026 21:23:57 -0400, c186282 wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>       They DID promise atomic-powered cars back when I was a little
>>>>>>       kid.
>>>>>>       Wonder what happened ?
>>>>>
>>>>> Ford didn't make any promises with the Nucleon. It was a concept
>>>>> based on small, lightweight reactors becoming available in the
>>>>> future. Never happened.
>>>>>
>>>>> I do remember Chrysler's turbine car from the '64 World's Fair. There
>>>>> were working prototypes but that didn't prove out either.
>>>>
>>>>     Turbines aren't great for automobiles.
>>>>
>>>>     We CAN make 'em cheap enough now - but they are not very fuel
>>>>     efficient and take too long to wind up and down.
>>>>
>>>>     So, no "Batmobiles".
>>>>
>>>>     "Hybrids", using a small constant-speed diesel as the recharge
>>>>     generator ...  those can be very efficient.
>>>
>>> Which is also a "usage point" for "turbines".  Run them at
>>> constant-speed spinning a generator, then use the resulting electricity
>>> for battery recharge.
>>>
>>> But you still have to deal with the "not terribly efficient" factor for
>>> a car sized model, plus the heat generated by the turbine combustion
>>> process.
>>>
>>>
>> In theory, you could run a second turbine on those hot gases of the
>> exhaust.
> 
> Did you just reinvent the turbocharger? I haven't driven anything with a
> turbo in a long time but I understand at least some designs have improved
> the lag.
Not really. best was the F1  hybrid design where the turbo charged the 
battery along with battery braking, and in low throttle situations that 
battery spun up the turbo!

-- 
The higher up the mountainside
The greener grows the grass.
The higher up the monkey climbs
The more he shows his arse.

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