Heated winshield?

[kevinthenerd]

Golfers heat their balls in order to make them fly further. Although the gains would be quite marginal, has anyone quantitatively determined the benefits of using a car's heat vented to the front window defroster in order to improve aerodynamics?

[TheSilentChamber]

I dont think they fly farther, warm balls just feel more natural in your pocket.

[kevinthenerd]

Originally Posted by TheSilentChamber

I dont think they fly farther, warm balls just feel more natural in your pocket.

In a recent attempt to exploit the heated golf ball, Nike and an English company both produced black golf balls because the black paint absorbs sunlight, heating the surrounding air to reduce its density.

The effect is so marginal I wonder whether the golf balls have a measurable difference, but the science is sound: hot objects tend to slip through air more easily than cold ones.

With people fighting for tenths off of quarter miles, I wonder whether this idea is worth a shot.

[bluevp00]

In theory, a heated windsheild might work to help quarter mile times. However, in order to heat the windsheild for the duration of the run, the heater fan must be working at full power. The power used to run the fan would most likely cancel out any gain in acelleration time.

[kevinthenerd]

Originally Posted by bluevp00

In theory, a heated windsheild might work to help quarter mile times. However, in order to heat the windsheild for the duration of the run, the heater fan must be working at full power. The power used to run the fan would most likely cancel out any gain in acelleration time.

This isn't a matter of Carnot cycle efficiency or anything stupid like that. That heat is coming from the motor, and it's otherwise wasted. You're not really putting in all that much energy to get it back. Besides, you could heat the windshield before the race, it might stay pretty hot during the race with the high heat capacity of glass (unless you're using Lexan or something)

[TheSilentChamber]

Your talking about heating your windshield to make the car faster but you use the phrase "...or anything stupid like that".

[kevinthenerd]

Originally Posted by TheSilentChamber

Your talking about heating your windshield to make the car faster but you use the phrase "...or anything stupid like that".

Yeah. Using the car's heater is just taking advantage of motor heat that will go wasted otherwise. I called Carnot efficiency stupid for various reasons, including but not limited to its improper over-application among people who don't understand thermodynamics and heat transfer.