 | David M. Johnson (far right) shows off Team Luxs latest and fastest creation, the "John Lee." The group is seeking donations to finance a trip to race in Athens. |
The "John Lee," the fastest and lightest solar car ever built by Yale's Team Lux, which runs at 65 m.p.h. under full sunlight using less power than a hairdryer, will race in its first international competition in May at the Phaethon Solar Car Race in Athens, Greece.
The Yale undergraduates who constructed the "John Lee" from scratch have completed the car and are seeking donations to help with the cost of shipping it to the overseas race. Their "adopt-a-cell" program allows donors to sponsor cells that make up the outer body of the car at $20 per cell.
"The car cost about $300,000 to build and we've received help from some outside companies and departments at Yale such as the Sikorsky Group, the Faculty of Engineering and the physics department, but we still need about $30,000," says Team Lux member David M. Johnson, a senior physics major.
Formed in 1996, Team Lux is a group of about 15 Yale undergraduates who design, build and race solar-powered cars. The races run along public highways and are the culmination of years of hard work. The construction of a solar car requires a large range of technical and logistical skills. Students in all majors are encouraged to participate to gain a better understanding of mechanical, electrical and business projects. The students are responsible for every stage of the fundraising, design and construction process.
Johnson says a main goal of Team Lux is to increase the public's environmental awareness and to dispel the almost-universal belief that solar-powered vehicles crawl along at less than 30 m.p.h.
"Our next generation of solar-powered vehicles have top speeds greater than 70 m.p.h. -- all using less energy than needed to power a toaster," Johnson says. "Cruising along interstate highways, we want people to realize they were just passed by a car running only on sunlight."
"It's a remarkable accomplishment," says D. Allan Bromley, the Sterling Professor of the Sciences and former dean of Yale Engineering. "Their ability not only to build and operate the car, but also to go out and get support impressed me. They were passionate about their work. Unique among all the competitors in these solar car races is that the Yale team's work is done entirely by undergraduates. This is a demonstration of what Yale students can do on their own given the freedom to structure their programs."
The result of a two-year project, the "John Lee" is Team Lux's fourth-generation solar-powered vehicle. Its design and construction reflects the team's seven years of experience building ultra-efficient automobiles. The three-wheeled "John Lee" has a titanium frame and at 560 pounds, including driver and ballast, is an extremely lightweight vehicle. It boasts a low-profile design and its suspension design and components are borrowed from recent advances in high- performance mountain bikes. The body is made of carbon fiber and honeycomb, which is light, yet very strong.
"It's a very ambitious design," says Johnson. "We did an aerodynamic analysis and found that if you only have one wheel in the front, which houses the motor, you don't disturb the air as much. It also uses one of the most powerful solar cells ever used in a solar car race."
Team Lux's previous vehicles are the "Lux Aeterna," "Lux Perpetua" and "Lux Millennia." "Lux Aeterna" finished in the top 10 and was the first-ranked novice car in the 10-day Sunrayce in 1997. "Lux Perpetua" placed 15th out of the 50 teams that entered the 1,300-mile Sunrayce in 1999. "The Lux Millennia" served as a prototype for the "John Lee."
The "John Lee" will be on display all day Sunday, Sept. 28, at the EcoFest environmental fair at Lincoln Center in New York City.
More information on the "John Lee" and how to become a Team Lux sponsor can be found at http://solar.eng.yale.edu.
-- By Karen Peart
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Team Lux car to compete internationally
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