I recently learned that cars lose approximately 80% of the energy from gasoline through heat. Could a car be designed to take that lost thermal energy and convert it into kinetic energy, allowing us to travel further on the same amount of gasoline? If so, how?
Converting thermal energy to kinetic energy?
- Posted:
- 3+ months ago by Cold_Fusion
- Topics:
- energy, physics, thermal, cars
Details:
Responses (1)
Heat is not lost energy, it is the end result of work. All the work used to get the car moving is converted to heat by blowing air out of the way, heating the tires, making noises, and so on. Some work is done just moving the exhaust out of the engine to let more air and fuel in. 100% of energy from fuel is turned into heat because the car has a heat engine. "Lost" energy does not mean "wasted" energy.
Engines that run on heat instead of fuel actually run on temperature difference. They require a heat source (hot) and a heat sink (cold). You need something to keep the source hot and the sink cold, so you still need to produce heat in one place and get rid of it someplace else.
Theories about internal combustion (Otto cycle): web.mit.edu/16.unified/www/SPRING/propulsion/notes/node25.html