How much does it cost?!

[slacker990]

My son has been asking me if I would buy a car that cost $100K if it ran on air. Now I was a bit dismissive at first, but when he asks seemingly off the wall questions like that he usually has seen something somewhere or read something. So I decided to ask the great Internets if there is such a car. And lo the heavens parted the the message was

Comments

[vaxhacker]

Looks like you're on the way to raising a good, healthy, eco-conscious Democrat there :)

Very cool

[autumnfalling]

Hooray for your son and his consideration of the environment. And, BTW, your analysis will only hold true for gas prices under a certain price per gallon. After that, the $100k air car wins anyway.

This reminds me of stirling-engines, also known as hot-air engines.

http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~khirata/

Check out the "for beginners" section - very informative. This is a great home-physics experiment you can do with your son, btw. The website explains it. http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~khirata/english/mk_can.htm

I bet your kid would get a kick out of seeing a hot-air engine in action. Especially one he built with his dad. :)