Science & Technology (solar)

What uses no fuel, but can travel across a country about 4,000 km (~2,500 miles) wide in five days? What can reach speeds of 100 km/hr using as little energy as a vacuum cleaner? What uses 11 square metres of solar panels, instead of 450 litres of fossil fuels? The Sunswift III solar ‘car’ made and driven by students from the University of NSW, who recently cut 3 days off the record to cross Australia from Perth to Sydney. The shell and chassis of carbon fibre hide sophisticated technology. According to the student’s website “intelligent electrical design allows the vehicle to convert energy generated by the solar array into electrical driving power at an efficiency of over 95%.” Although engineering student Andrew Pratley appreciates the Sunswift doesn't present a practical alternative in the next five to 10 years, he says, “it shows that a group of students can drive across Australia with no fuel, then there probably is better alternatives for us to consider as a nation on where we go with our future transport." (The students chose to offset the carbon emissions of their support vehicles via Greenfleet, who we've noted before.) ::Sunswift III, via :ABC.