"Winston" wrote in message
...
Ed Huntress wrote:
wrote in message
...

(...)

We would have killed for cast iron.
They made *us* knap our tires from granite.

Oh, c'mon. Now you're exaggerating.

Busted. Curses!

It takes too long to knap tires from
granite. There probably are some RCM members who have tried...

Doubtlessly.

I think that automobile alternators are reluctance-type.
They're flexible but not particularly efficient.

I see where Bosch are touting their new 70% efficient 'smart'
alternator that allows digital control so that field
current can be turned off during acceleration and
cranked up during braking, boosting engine efficiency
by as much as 3%. Smart Indeed!

http://csr.bosch.com/content/languag...ENU_XHTML.aspx


--Winston

These innovations are great to think about. Then it comes time to analyze
something gone wrong...

Speaking of which, my wife's Sonata died today -- the battery died because
her passenger left the door ajar at lunchtime -- and I was freaked when I
went over to school to jump start it. The intrusion alarm was feebly wailing
a plaintive cry, like a baby animal that was being torn apart by a raptor or
something, and I couldn't get it to stop. There was just enough juice left
in the battery to give out that feeble squeak, but not enough to react to
the remote. When I connected the jumper cables it went into full blast --
with my head under the hood and about 18 inches from the alarm. Jesus. I
didn't know I could still jump like that.

I want something I can fix with a screwdriver and a box of tools I could put
under my arm. A Lotus 6 or 7 might do it. No doors, even.

--
Ed Huntress