Talk about terminally stupid. From Sky News:
Chinese Farmer Fights Smog With Fan Power
A Chinese farmer worried about his country's pollution problem has come up with a bizarre four-wheeled solution.
In a small tractor workshop in the dusty village of Banjiehe, an hour outside Beijing, 55-year-old Tang Zhenping has been hard at work on a car he dreams will one day become the people's popular choice.
Mr Tang's model - built in just three months for around £1,000 - is electric, with a battery that needs to be charged from the mains.
Its engine uses scrap parts from a motorcycle and electric scooter, while its steering wheel, upholstery and headlights all come from a Chinese-made Xiali hatchback.
But what makes the one-seater special is the turbine on its nose.
When the car reaches 40mph, the blades spring into action, generating what Mr Tang claims is extra power.
He claims the turbine means his car's battery - which would otherwise need to be recharged daily - only requires charging every three days.
One word -- bullshit. Assuming that the turbine is two feet in diameter (guessing from the photo at the article), plugging that into this online wind calculator gives me a generated power of 235 Watts of power. Not enough to charge the battery for two days of additional driving. Plus, as the turbine operates, it creates aerodynamic drag on the vehicle causing an increased use of energy from the primary batteries.
However, critics say that any power generated by the turbine would be outweighed by the energy expended in propelling the vehicle forwards.
Yeah -- because anyone that sees the proposed design will also be able to see that it simply does not work. Adding the turbine will only make his car that much less efficient.
The farmer says he dreamed of building an electric car for three decades, but was unable to interest government officials or private investors.
Bad idea 30 years ago, bad idea today. Any investor would run from this shaking their head... Sky News? From their about page:
Sky News is an unrivalled, world class breaking news service with a spirit of innovation and a fresh approach to news broadcasting. As the UK's first dedicated 24-hour news channel, Sky News has built a deserved reputation for being the first to break major news as well as offering insight and analysis on the latest stories.
They should be ashamed of themselves. Any high-school physics student could explain in exquisite detail how this simply will not work.
