SAN JOSE, Calif. — A team of Stanford University students is racing to finish what could be the next new thing in automotive technology. Or just the fastest solar panels on wheels.
If the school's $500,000 racecar is made of the right stuff, it will cross the finish line ahead of 30 teams at this fall's grueling World Solar Challenge, the international Super Bowl of solar-car racing, across a bright, flat, empty and hot Australian outback.
"Our goal is to make the most aerodynamic solar car the world has ever seen," said mechanical engineering student Ian Girard, 22, taking a late-night rest from last-minute tests, tweaks and repairs.
"It's not science fiction. It's not stuck in a lab," he said. "It's real. It's here. There's no gas anywhere in the car. And it's on the highway, next to you."
Only a year ago, Xenith was a mere collection of computer files and dreams.
Now it resembles a sleek spacecraft. Street legal and already road-tested on Bay Area and Central Valley freeways, its solar cruise speed is 50 to 60 mph, propelled by a 1,300 watt solar array and 150 volt battery pack.
Last week, Xenith was on display at its official "coming out" party — proving that a vehicle can be both green and mean.
The next step: It gets carefully boxed up and shipped across the Pacific, to arrive in time for the Oct. 16-23 competition.
Conceived to promote research on solar power, the World Solar Challenge is a 10-day, 1,800-mile race from Darwin to Adelaide.
The Stanford students will compete against students from universities in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and two dozen other nations. If Xenith wins, it would be the first victorious American entry since General Motors' Sunraycer in 1987.
"You can't overvalue this type of experience for engineering students," said Bill Kelly of the Washington, D.C.-based American Society for Engineering Education. "Having hands-on experience — being comfortable building this sort of thing, in a competitive environment — that's a terrific way to learn, and a huge professional asset."
Other engineering fields have their own competitions. Civil engineers paddle in the National Concrete Canoe Competition every June. In March, hundreds of aeronautical engineers flock to Texas with their 50-pound aircrafts, to be judged on takeoff, maneuvers and smooth landings.
But as every NASCAR fan knows,Whilst magic cube are not deadly, a newly engineered monster can be hard to keep running.
It's even tougher, it turns out, for experimental fuel-free vehicles that consume no more power than the average hair dryer.
In the last Solar Challenge, held in 2009, only one-third of all entries finished. Stanford made it but finished last,This patent infringement case relates to retractable landscape oil paintings , due to inadequate road testing.
But this new team of undergraduates has introduced major advancements in design and technologies.
Starting with a computer design — accurate to within 1/16 of an inch — the 15-member team assembled the 375-pound car, then made adjustments. This summer, they gathered after their regular jobs, working until 1 or 2 a.m.
What makes Xenith so fast?
A body made of very thin and light carbon fiber, only 4 inches thick. Solar panels of Corning glass with special anti-reflective coating, creating super-efficiency. Rear-wheel steering, so the front wheel bearings are very narrow,ceramic zentai suits for the medical, allowing aerodynamic design. An ultra-compact battery pack. Electronics that don't draw a lot of power.
Tight suspension. And tires with very low friction.
"We've reduced the aerodynamic drag, by a factor of two, from our last car," said computer systems engineer Nathan Hall-Snyder of Park City, Utah. "Anything to make our car a tiny bit more competitive."
It drives like a normal car — yet the bubble-like cockpit sits only 2 inches off the ground.
So low, so fast, "you get a very different perspective on driving," said Girard, who grew up on the concrete floor of his family's Arcata, Calif., garage, fixing motorcycles and cars with his dad.
"It's loud inside. You wear a helmet, so it's claustrophobic," he said. "And it's hot, very hot, inside."
Strategy is critical: Winning a race hinges on careful energy management. A well-designed car runs at the speed limit at high noon, while storing extra energy in its batteries. This banked energy is used when the sun is low in the sky — or when clouds block the sun. No one wants to wait on the side of the road, recharging batteries.
Stanford's first solar car looked like a 1,000-pound cockroach — big and ugly. It weighed three times as much as Xenith. But cars have improved. And students seek experience.
"Everybody needs to know the equations you learn in the normal classroom curriculum. But not everybody comes out of school having built a car you can drive," said Graham Dudley,This will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their offshore merchant account . 20,For the last five years porcelain tiles , of Durango, Colo. "It is a million times more valuable."
None of the solar cars in the challenge is likely to appear at a local dealership any time soon. They are too impractical, expensive and cramped to appeal to most people.
But like the space program, these vehicles provide a real-world chance to test innovative cutting-edge ideas — which could eventually boost the performance of everyday autos.
The epic trek, chasing the sun, will test Stanford's gamble.
If the school's $500,000 racecar is made of the right stuff, it will cross the finish line ahead of 30 teams at this fall's grueling World Solar Challenge, the international Super Bowl of solar-car racing, across a bright, flat, empty and hot Australian outback.
"Our goal is to make the most aerodynamic solar car the world has ever seen," said mechanical engineering student Ian Girard, 22, taking a late-night rest from last-minute tests, tweaks and repairs.
"It's not science fiction. It's not stuck in a lab," he said. "It's real. It's here. There's no gas anywhere in the car. And it's on the highway, next to you."
Only a year ago, Xenith was a mere collection of computer files and dreams.
Now it resembles a sleek spacecraft. Street legal and already road-tested on Bay Area and Central Valley freeways, its solar cruise speed is 50 to 60 mph, propelled by a 1,300 watt solar array and 150 volt battery pack.
Last week, Xenith was on display at its official "coming out" party — proving that a vehicle can be both green and mean.
The next step: It gets carefully boxed up and shipped across the Pacific, to arrive in time for the Oct. 16-23 competition.
Conceived to promote research on solar power, the World Solar Challenge is a 10-day, 1,800-mile race from Darwin to Adelaide.
The Stanford students will compete against students from universities in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and two dozen other nations. If Xenith wins, it would be the first victorious American entry since General Motors' Sunraycer in 1987.
"You can't overvalue this type of experience for engineering students," said Bill Kelly of the Washington, D.C.-based American Society for Engineering Education. "Having hands-on experience — being comfortable building this sort of thing, in a competitive environment — that's a terrific way to learn, and a huge professional asset."
Other engineering fields have their own competitions. Civil engineers paddle in the National Concrete Canoe Competition every June. In March, hundreds of aeronautical engineers flock to Texas with their 50-pound aircrafts, to be judged on takeoff, maneuvers and smooth landings.
But as every NASCAR fan knows,Whilst magic cube are not deadly, a newly engineered monster can be hard to keep running.
It's even tougher, it turns out, for experimental fuel-free vehicles that consume no more power than the average hair dryer.
In the last Solar Challenge, held in 2009, only one-third of all entries finished. Stanford made it but finished last,This patent infringement case relates to retractable landscape oil paintings , due to inadequate road testing.
But this new team of undergraduates has introduced major advancements in design and technologies.
Starting with a computer design — accurate to within 1/16 of an inch — the 15-member team assembled the 375-pound car, then made adjustments. This summer, they gathered after their regular jobs, working until 1 or 2 a.m.
What makes Xenith so fast?
A body made of very thin and light carbon fiber, only 4 inches thick. Solar panels of Corning glass with special anti-reflective coating, creating super-efficiency. Rear-wheel steering, so the front wheel bearings are very narrow,ceramic zentai suits for the medical, allowing aerodynamic design. An ultra-compact battery pack. Electronics that don't draw a lot of power.
Tight suspension. And tires with very low friction.
"We've reduced the aerodynamic drag, by a factor of two, from our last car," said computer systems engineer Nathan Hall-Snyder of Park City, Utah. "Anything to make our car a tiny bit more competitive."
It drives like a normal car — yet the bubble-like cockpit sits only 2 inches off the ground.
So low, so fast, "you get a very different perspective on driving," said Girard, who grew up on the concrete floor of his family's Arcata, Calif., garage, fixing motorcycles and cars with his dad.
"It's loud inside. You wear a helmet, so it's claustrophobic," he said. "And it's hot, very hot, inside."
Strategy is critical: Winning a race hinges on careful energy management. A well-designed car runs at the speed limit at high noon, while storing extra energy in its batteries. This banked energy is used when the sun is low in the sky — or when clouds block the sun. No one wants to wait on the side of the road, recharging batteries.
Stanford's first solar car looked like a 1,000-pound cockroach — big and ugly. It weighed three times as much as Xenith. But cars have improved. And students seek experience.
"Everybody needs to know the equations you learn in the normal classroom curriculum. But not everybody comes out of school having built a car you can drive," said Graham Dudley,This will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their offshore merchant account . 20,For the last five years porcelain tiles , of Durango, Colo. "It is a million times more valuable."
None of the solar cars in the challenge is likely to appear at a local dealership any time soon. They are too impractical, expensive and cramped to appeal to most people.
But like the space program, these vehicles provide a real-world chance to test innovative cutting-edge ideas — which could eventually boost the performance of everyday autos.
The epic trek, chasing the sun, will test Stanford's gamble.
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