[ale] OT geek motorcycle?

[Danny Cox]

Kevin,

On Mon, 2004-04-19 at 23:53, Kevin Krumwiede wrote:
> I wonder how diesel locomotives do it.  Their engines drive generators;
> electric motors drive the wheels.  Massive transmissions and drive
> shafts are less efficient and harder to maintain, I guess.

	See http://www.howstuffworks.com for how diesel locomotives work.

	They may not get into that much detail, but since you have a throttle
on the diesel, then you have a throttle overall.

> IIRC, an electric motor's torque varies with current, and its speed
> varies with voltage.  So, what about using a transformer tapped for
> various voltages?  It'd be like an electric transmission.

	Yes, that would work for AC, but most applications I've seen for cars
are DC.  You'd probably still end up building an inverter, and you'd
need a very large transformer to handle that much current, I think.

	Hey, I can be pessimistic (or realistic) too! ;-)

-- 
kernel, n.: A part of an operating system that preserves the
medieval traditions of sorcery and black art.

Danny