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GoSun EV Solar Charger Drapes Onto Your Car
The GoSun EV Solar Charger provides 1,200 watts of solar energy for your electric car; charging it in the parking lot at work can result in up to 30 miles of driving.
This product actually looks a lot like this science-fictional concept from eighty years ago, especially folded up. Science fiction author Robert Heinlein imagined it in his 1940 story Coventry; he called his vehicle the Steel Tortoise:
The vehicle he had chosen was... was extremely rugged, easy to operate, and almost foolproof. It drew its power from six square yards of sunpower screens on its low curved roof. These drove a constant-load motor, or, when halted, replenished the storage battery against cloudy weather, or night travel. The bearings were 'everlasting', and every moving part, other than the caterpillar treads and the controls, were sealed up, secure from inexpert tinkering.
Steel Tortoise from 'Coventry' by Robert Heinlein)It could maintain a steady six miles per hour on smooth, level pavement. When confronted by hills, or rough terrain, it did not stop, but simply slowed until the task demanded equaled its steady power output.
(Read more about steel tortoise)
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Related News Stories - (" Vehicle ")
Martha Stewart Approves Ojai 'Living Room On Wheels'
'Young people found the driverless car admirable for petting.' - David H. Keller, 1935.
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'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair or to perch on a flagpole in imitation of a giant bird, even in the windy city of Chicago.' RH Romans, 1929.
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'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.' - Robert Heinlein, 1940.
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Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
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