21 Oct 97 01:00, MIKE ROSS wrote to Joe E. Dodson:
JED>> Turbines are used in many stationary applications.
MR>Yes, but this application requires perhaps less than 50 hp at the most.
MR>(Remember, the power losses in a hybrid are much lower than an IC car.)
MR>Most stationary apps are for backup generation with thousands of hp's.
MR>You aren't comparing these fairly. It's not the same power level at all.
It is not a matter of size. It is a matter of design. Whether you are making 
50HP or 50,000HP isn't the problem. Turbines run at VERY high rpm. This 
requires the use of "exotic" materials to stand the stresses involved. It 
requires some type of rpm reducing system to make the turbine output 
available for ordinary uses whether that is a generator or the rear axle of a 
vehicle. All of this makes a turbine expensive compared to a recip. engine.
MR>Imagine adapting a steam system to a car. Your adapted engine would look
MR>nothing like a steam locomotive's. What's really funny is that it was
MR>tried way before rails ever existed. In a real sense you can say that
MR>the steam carriage was the prototype.
Actually using steam might be better. 
-Joe
jdodson@smart1.net
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