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Where The Hell Are The Flying Cars? It's The 21st Century!

What is going to happen to the oil industry when all the non electric cars are gone ?
Some oil will still be extracted to make plastics, animal feed, other stuff.
Big Oil is investing and diversifying anyway.
 
It really is a huge concern. Even without running into politics.

Just think of all the motor factors that will see a vast reduction in trade. And the engine re-conditioners.

Having said that, if the governments simply ban the further production of new petrol and Diesel engine then the incentive will be to make the existing ones last longer.

Re-boring blocks and re working the cylinder heads may come back into vogue.
 
It really is a huge concern. Even without running into politics.

Just think of all the motor factors that will see a vast reduction in trade. And the engine re-conditioners.

Having said that, if the governments simply ban the further production of new petrol and Diesel engine then the incentive will be to make the existing ones last longer.

Re-boring blocks and re working the cylinder heads may come back into vogue.
Whatever else happens, I predict that the cost of electricity will rise.
 
Agreed, it will have to to make up the lost tax revenue.

Off-grid, anyone ?
 
At least it hovers. Vid at link.

A flying electric car prototype has been tested in Japan.

Japanese electronics giant NEC and Cartivator think this is the transport mode of the future. NEC officials say their flying car is designed for driverless flights for deliveries. The Japanese Government's roadmap sets out a plan to begin to transport goods in 2023, and for people to start to travel this way by the late 2020s. The roadmap shows that, at first, the flying cars will begin in rural areas, and they will start to appear in cities in the 2030s.

https://www.independent.ie/videos/w...ing-japanese-demonstration-38375669.html#play
 
There's a possibility the first widespread flying cars won't involve flying drivers ... They'll be autonomous vehicles ...
Flying taxi makes U.S. debut at North Carolina demonstration

A flying taxi with no pilot made its first U.S. test flight in North Carolina with an audience of about 100 people, including several state officials.

Gov. Roy Cooper, state lawmakers and North Carolina Department of Transportation officials were among the more than 100 spectators at Tuesday's demonstration of the EHang 216 autonomous aerial vehicle.

The two-seat drone is designed for use in cargo delivery and human transportation.

"Autonomous connected vehicles of any type are where transportation is headed," North Carolina Transportation Secretary Jim Trogdon told The News & Observer. "We want to bring these kinds of opportunities to make sure that we're economically competitive."

Officials said they were particularly interested in EHang's project because the company is also developing an airspace management system designed to handle hundreds of flying taxis at once.

Derrick Xiong, Ehang's cofounder, said the company has previously done demonstration flights in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. ...
FULL STORY: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/0...t-North-Carolina-demonstration/2551578506302/
 
I think that flying cars won't be truly practical until you can deliver very large amounts of energy from a relatively lightweight power source. The Mr. Fusion reactor from Back To The Future comes to mind. If you had that kind of energy available, you could generate a magnetic field to allow the vehicle to float (ala maglev). Then, very little additional force would be required to propel the vehicle.

Darned if I know how you would make it steer and stop in a predictable, reliable manner. Systems would have to be double or triple redundant so that you wouldn't have disabled cars falling out of the sky. For that reason, you would want to keep max altitudes low, perhaps electronically controlled to follow existing surface highways to start. Eventually, a new road may consist of nothing more than a series of cell towers. This should ultimately allow us to minimize the amount of concrete and asphalt covering the earth.

If people don't like the idea of mas-produced, mini fusion reactors, maybe we could perfect Tesla's idea of broadcasting electricity. Then, your vehicle would only have a receiver of some type and no need for batteries or a power source of any kind.
 
.....

If people don't like the idea of mas-produced, mini fusion reactors, maybe we could perfect Tesla's idea of broadcasting electricity. Then, your vehicle would only have a receiver of some type and no need for batteries or a power source of any kind.

I've wondered whether Tesla's ideas on transmitting electricity would have caused problems in future developments in electronics. When Tesla was working in the early 1900s, there was only his work on radio, Marconi's radio work, the small scale electrical supply sytems and telegraph and telephone systems. Would transmiting electricity through the air have fried them by inducing currents in the equipment? Any future equipment would probably have had to be hardened against electromagnetic induction - would this have even been posible? BTW even the relatively primitive telegraph system was susceptible to electromagnetic events, the solar storm of 1859 (known as the Carrington Event) knocked out telegraph systems all over the USA and Europe. There're are quite of lot of devices that are charged by induction these days, but only over a very short range. The field strength to distubute power over any distance would be massive.
 
I've wondered whether Tesla's ideas on transmitting electricity would have caused problems in future developments in electronics. When Tesla was working in the early 1900s, there was only his work on radio, Marconi's radio work, the small scale electrical supply sytems and telegraph and telephone systems. Would transmiting electricity through the air have fried them by inducing currents in the equipment? Any future equipment would probably have had to be hardened against electromagnetic induction - would this have even been posible? BTW even the relatively primitive telegraph system was susceptible to electromagnetic events, the solar storm of 1859 (known as the Carrington Event) knocked out telegraph systems all over the USA and Europe. There're are quite of lot of devices that are charged by induction these days, but only over a very short range. The field strength to distubute power over any distance would be massive.
I love the idea Tesla was designing an EMP generator before the technology that would make it such a threat existed.
 
... The field strength to distubute power over any distance would be massive.

That's the problem in a nutshell. Tesla's forward-looking (but still technically primitive) approach would require massive power input and strong fields being output.

His general vision of wireless power at a distance might eventually be feasible, but I suspect it would involve tight beams of concentrated energy rather than full-surround broadcasting of energy in all directions.
 
Another flying car prototype - SkyDrive (formerly Cartivator) - has demonstrated manned VTOL capabilities in Japan.
Japan’s ‘flying car’ gets off ground, with a person aboard

... Japan’s SkyDrive Inc., among the myriads of “flying car” projects around the world, has carried out a successful though modest test flight with one person aboard.

In a video shown to reporters on Friday, a contraption that looked like a slick motorcycle with propellers lifted several feet (1-2 meters) off the ground, and hovered in a netted area for four minutes.

Tomohiro Fukuzawa, who heads the SkyDrive effort, said he hopes “the flying car” can be made into a real-life product by 2023, but he acknowledged that making it safe was critical. ...

“Of the world’s more than 100 flying car projects, only a handful has succeeded with a person on board,” he told The Associated Press.

“I hope many people will want to ride it and feel safe.”

The machine so far can fly for just five to 10 minutes but if that can become 30 minutes, it will have more potential, including exports to places like China, Fukuzawa said.

he SkyDrive project began humbly as a volunteer project called Cartivator in 2012, with funding by top Japanese companies including automaker Toyota Motor Corp., electronics company Panasonic Corp. and video-game developer Bandai Namco.

A demonstration flight three years ago went poorly. But it has improved and the project recently received another round of funding, of 3.9 billion yen ($37 million), including from the Development Bank of Japan.

The Japanese government is bullish on “the Jetsons” vision, with a “road map” for business services by 2023, and expanded commercial use by the 2030s, stressing its potential for connecting remote areas and providing lifelines in disasters. ...

FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/951c5f396b4277967e3e94f24c71ef68
 
Another flying car prototype - SkyDrive (formerly Cartivator) - has demonstrated manned VTOL capabilities in Japan.


FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/951c5f396b4277967e3e94f24c71ef68
Reminds me visually of a Star Wars speeder bike a little bit. :cool:

aflyingcar001.jpg
 
XpengFlyingCar.jpg
Chinese electric car start-up Xpeng shows off new flying vehicle

Alibaba-backed Xpeng is putting money into flying car technology as part of the company’s long-term strategy.

The electric automaker revealed Saturday at the Beijing Auto Show the first in a series of electric flying vehicles the start-up said it is developing.

With eight propellers and a capsule-like frame, the vehicle resembles a human-carrying drone more than a flying car. The prototype was developed by Xpeng Heitech, a technology unit majority-owned by Xpeng and CEO He Xiaopeng. ...

The flying vehicle can hold up to two passengers and is designed for low altitudes of 5 meters to 25 meters (16.4 feet to 82 feet), according to Xpeng. The project is in a concept phase, and the company said it will evaluate prospects of the space before proceeding with any substantial investment. ...

SOURCE: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/26/chi...t-up-xpeng-shows-off-new-flying-vehicle-.html

ALSO:
Chinese automaker unveils flying electric car

A Chinese auto maker revealed an electric flying vehicle at the 2020 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition Saturday.

The car, dubbed the Kiwigogo, can carry up to two passengers and is designed to flow at altitudes between 16 and 82 feet, according to Xpeng Motors, the Alibaba-backed manufacturer that produced the car. ...

SOURCE: https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-...er-unveils-flying-electric-car/5931601148026/
 
That's the problem in a nutshell. Tesla's forward-looking (but still technically primitive) approach would require massive power input and strong fields being output.

His general vision of wireless power at a distance might eventually be feasible, but I suspect it would involve tight beams of concentrated energy rather than full-surround broadcasting of energy in all directions.
This spot on. The transmitted energy would have to be very focused and very directional. Like a 40 dBi dish used in highly directional microwave transmissions. The thing is no matter what the nature of the transited Electro - Magnetic energy there will always be distance related losses. In the ideal case of a lossless vacuum you loss 6 dB loss every time the distance is doubled. Otherwise put when the distance in a lossless vacuum is doubled the available energy is reduced to 25% of that of the source, In reality it's usually quite a bit more.
 
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I've wondered whether Tesla's ideas on transmitting electricity would have caused problems in future developments in electronics. When Tesla was working in the early 1900s, there was only his work on radio, Marconi's radio work, the small scale electrical supply sytems and telegraph and telephone systems. Would transmiting electricity through the air have fried them by inducing currents in the equipment? Any future equipment would probably have had to be hardened against electromagnetic induction - would this have even been posible? BTW even the relatively primitive telegraph system was susceptible to electromagnetic events, the solar storm of 1859 (known as the Carrington Event) knocked out telegraph systems all over the USA and Europe. There're are quite of lot of devices that are charged by induction these days, but only over a very short range. The field strength to distubute power over any distance would be massive.
The trouble here is that as time progresses the voltage used to run all but the high power electronics is continually being reduced to increase efficiency (less heat). Modern I.C.s run on voltages as low 2 volts. This makes them all the more susceptible to EM interference or outright damaged - destruction. Rad hard devices are typically only used in very expensive military electronics and are very costly.
 
OK, that does look real. Nice.
 
Now that car actualy looks like it may posess boot space....

Im not buying one without.
 
South Korean officials hosted a demonstration of a two-seat flying taxi drone, and they outlined their effort to make such flying taxis a daily reality within about 5 years.
Flying taxi takes off over Seoul in demonstration flight

South Korea offered a glimpse of a science-fiction future on Wednesday with a demonstration flight of a two-seat drone taxi in Seoul, as the government outlined ambitious plans to commercialize urban air travel by 2025.

At an event held next to the Han River near Yeouido, a finance and banking district in the heart of Seoul, a two-seat drone produced by Chinese manufacturer EHang buzzed quietly overhead for about seven minutes at an altitude of over 150 feet. ...

The eVTOL -- electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Vehicle -- which carries a payload of 485 pounds and can reach speeds up to 80 mph, was loaded with heavy sacks of rice instead of passengers for the flight.

The demonstration was hosted by the Seoul city government and South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which is developing a "K-drone" air- traffic management system as it plans for a sky that will soon be filled with everything from taxis to delivery drones. ...

FULL STORY (With Photos):
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-...-Seoul-in-demonstration-flight/7671605096971/
 
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