zeferino1
- Cars
Test Drive: The Electric Mini
Regenerative braking, the process through which an electric car grabs otherwise wasted energy from the brakes as the car glides to a halt, is a brilliant bit of engineering for efficiency—take energy that's otherwise only good for burning up brake pads, and turn it into electricity that charges the battery. It may also make the uninitiated driver want to vomit.
11.22.2008 at 04:53pm - Comment by zeferino1Millions of nanoturbines that could be directly applied to the surface of the car need to be developed before any energy efficiencies can be realized from the effect of wind moving over the car. Until then, it's regenerative braking, batteries and/or hydrogen.
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December 2009: Best of What's New
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
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