On Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:47:40 -0800, Mike the Strike wrote:

So how does rubber (or modern synthetic varieties thereof) compare on an
energy storage per mass basis with lithium/ion batteries? We use them
for bungee launches - how about powering a sustainer?

Good quality rubber strip stores around 3000 ft/lb per pound of rubber.
Sad to say, I've completely forgotten how to convert that to something we
could compare with a battery, say to kW/kg.

I have this vision of a large coil of rubber between my legs powering a
slow-turning single-bladed prop!

That sounds potentially as dangerous to valued objects as snapping the
drive shaft of a P.39 Airacobra.


--
martin@ | Martin Gregorie
gregorie. | Essex, UK
org |