Solar Resource
Encyclopedia
The Solar Resource was an Australia
n entry in the inaugural World Solar Challenge
race—then known as the Pentax World Solar Challenge race—in 1987.
The Solar Resource was one of 24 entries from 7 countries (Australia, Denmark
, Japan
, Pakistan
, Switzerland
, USA and West Germany
) which raced from Darwin to Adelaide, a journey of just over 3000 km. The Solar Resource finished 7th overall, but came first in the ‘Private Entry’ category. Its overall average speed during the race 25.64 km/h. The race was won by the US-built GM entry, Sunraycer
.
The Solar Resource was an Australian privately-funded backyard project, headed by Ian Landon Smith, an engineer and alternative energy specialist during 1986-7. During that time, each component of the Solar Resource was made and re-made 3 times prior to a successful final construction. While the cost of building the car was approximately $75,000, almost $1 million on the 760 gallium-arsenide solar cells, usually used on space satellites.
The dimensions of the Solar Resource include a height of 1.04 metres, a width of 2 metres and a depth of 5.43 metres, with a total weight of 170 kg. It is powered by an electric motor that is Swiss-made, which has a variable drive, chain drive to its rear wheels. Built around a square tube frame, the body is set very low to the ground and is square in section, but with a rounded nose, which features four holes for ventilation. The cockpit cover is made of removable fibreglass, while the body panels are made of fibreglass, mylar and Kevlar. Attached to the roof, just above the tinted windscreen, is an externally-mounted rear-view mirror which functions in the same manner as a ‘periscope’. The pneumatic tyres have four orange-coloured lights in each corner of the ‘hubcap’ which act as indicators. The axles are covered with white aerofoil and extend out from the body; the two front axles extend out further than the two rear ones.
The cockpit itself features polystyrene panels in the sides around the horizontally-positioned aluminium tube frame seat. Two bottles are located behind the seat – one for drinking has a tube attached, and the other is for squirting and cooling purposes. Also behind the seat are two 12-volt Pulsar batteries. In front of the seat, the control panel contains digital readout instruments for the voltage and amp readings of both, the battery and the solar cells. Because of its racing context, a clock and stop watch are also part of the control panel. There is also a twenty-channel CB radio beneath the control panel. The steering wheel, shaped like a boomerang, is set in the centre.
Smith donated the Solar Resource to the Powerhouse Museum
in 1990.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n entry in the inaugural World Solar Challenge
World Solar Challenge
The World Solar Challenge is a solar-powered car race which covers through the Australian Outback, from Darwin to Adelaide.The race attracts teams from around the world, most of which are fielded by universities or corporations although some are fielded by high schools...
race—then known as the Pentax World Solar Challenge race—in 1987.
The Solar Resource was one of 24 entries from 7 countries (Australia, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, USA and West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
) which raced from Darwin to Adelaide, a journey of just over 3000 km. The Solar Resource finished 7th overall, but came first in the ‘Private Entry’ category. Its overall average speed during the race 25.64 km/h. The race was won by the US-built GM entry, Sunraycer
Sunraycer
The Sunraycer was a solar powered race car designed to compete in the world's first race featuring solar-powered cars. This race is now called the World Solar Challenge. The Sunraycer, a joint collaboration between General Motors, AeroVironment, and Hughes Aircraft, won the first race in 1987 by a...
.
The Solar Resource was an Australian privately-funded backyard project, headed by Ian Landon Smith, an engineer and alternative energy specialist during 1986-7. During that time, each component of the Solar Resource was made and re-made 3 times prior to a successful final construction. While the cost of building the car was approximately $75,000, almost $1 million on the 760 gallium-arsenide solar cells, usually used on space satellites.
The dimensions of the Solar Resource include a height of 1.04 metres, a width of 2 metres and a depth of 5.43 metres, with a total weight of 170 kg. It is powered by an electric motor that is Swiss-made, which has a variable drive, chain drive to its rear wheels. Built around a square tube frame, the body is set very low to the ground and is square in section, but with a rounded nose, which features four holes for ventilation. The cockpit cover is made of removable fibreglass, while the body panels are made of fibreglass, mylar and Kevlar. Attached to the roof, just above the tinted windscreen, is an externally-mounted rear-view mirror which functions in the same manner as a ‘periscope’. The pneumatic tyres have four orange-coloured lights in each corner of the ‘hubcap’ which act as indicators. The axles are covered with white aerofoil and extend out from the body; the two front axles extend out further than the two rear ones.
The cockpit itself features polystyrene panels in the sides around the horizontally-positioned aluminium tube frame seat. Two bottles are located behind the seat – one for drinking has a tube attached, and the other is for squirting and cooling purposes. Also behind the seat are two 12-volt Pulsar batteries. In front of the seat, the control panel contains digital readout instruments for the voltage and amp readings of both, the battery and the solar cells. Because of its racing context, a clock and stop watch are also part of the control panel. There is also a twenty-channel CB radio beneath the control panel. The steering wheel, shaped like a boomerang, is set in the centre.
Smith donated the Solar Resource to the Powerhouse Museum
Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, the other being the historic Sydney Observatory...
in 1990.