Re: Lightweight electric cars.
Those ideas have already been thought of Stuart, and it's nowhere near as simple as that. It requires about 15 or 20 horsepower to keep a car that is already up to speed moving down the highway at highway speeds. 15 horsepower is >11,000 watts and 20 horsepower is 15,000 watts. Because of losses in efficiency when converting between the different types of energy along with battery charging and wiring losses, you'd need a bigger than 15kW generator. This means that you'd use more gasoline that way than just having a small gasoline engine in the first place.
It isn't rare for people with electric vehicles to carry a gasoline genset, though. They just carry a much smaller, much lighter weight generator. That way they never get stranded somewhere, and can even go on trips longer than the range of their vehicle. They have to stop for 5 or 6 hours every time the batteries need charging, though.
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