Q: What is the North American Solar Challenge?
A: The North American Solar Challenge is an intercollegiate competition among student teams from around the world to design, build and race solar-powered vehicles from Plano, Texas, to Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Q: What is the distance of the North American Solar Challenge?
A: At 2,500 miles, the North American Solar Challenge is the longest solar car race in the world.
Q: Every Missouri S&T car has been numbered 42. What is the significance of the No. 42?
A: Since 1993, students at Missouri S&T have built eight solar-powered cars, each one emblazoned with the sacred number 42. The tradition started when members of the first team decided that Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was right when he wrote that the meaning of life, and the answer to everything, is 42.
Q: What time of day do the students race their cars?A: The students race their solar cars from 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Q: How far can the top teams go in a day?
A: In the 2003 race, some teams drove their solar cars more than 350 miles in one day, setting a solar-racing record.
Q: How fast do solar cars travel and what’s the average speed?
A: Some solar cars can reach 80-85 mph on a track. However, during the race, 65 mph will be the top speed to comply with posted speed limits.The average minimum speed will be 25 mph on the main route and 35 mph in sections where they travel the interstate.
Q: How much do these cars cost?
A: Some cars have been built for as little as $50,000. Some cost as much as $1 million. An average competitive car costs around $200,000. It depends on the type of components and materials students use, and how much time and effort they put into design. Advanced composite materials tend to be expensive. Computer-aided design and aerodynamic testing are costly. The more efficient, lightweight electric motors and higher efficiency solar cells add cost.
Q: How much does a set of solar cells cost for one of these cars?
A: Anywhere from $5,000 to $150,000, but realistically, $125,000 is the most any team on this race is likely to spend. The price has generally gone down on the higher-priced cells. Several years ago, the cost was $150,000 for a 1,500-1,800 watt array. You can buy that now for about $120,000.
Q: What is a solar array?
A: The array is all of the solar cells on the topside of a solar car. Once the sun strikes the array, this energy is converted into electricity to power the vehicle. The array can also be removed and faced toward the sun for charging.
Q: How about batteries? How much do they cost?
A: Anywhere from $2,500 for a set of lead-acid batteries to $20,000 for a set of lithium-ion.
Q: What is a solar car made of and how does it work?
A: It depends, but all are powered by solar cells (photovoltaic cells) that convert sunlight directly into electricity. That energy is then stored in batteries. The electricity powers an electric motor to propel the car. The car’s body can be made of simple fiberglass and plywood or aluminum, or it can be made from advanced, lightweight composite material such as Kevlar, which is commonly used for bullet-proof vests and in racing and aerospace industries. Financing the car depends on the amount of money teams are able to raise and the design strategy they choose.
Q: What are some of the differences between this race and the 2005 North American Solar Challenge, which also had a route from Texas to Alberta?
A: This year’s race is sponsored by Toyota. New rules mean the cars all have steering wheels and improved driving/sight conditions. In past races, the participating teams would get spread out by distances of hundreds of miles, as the faster cars were allowed to move well ahead of the field. This year, mandatory stage stops will be enforced – kind of like the Tour de France.
Q: What happens when it’s cloudy?
A: Teams charge their arrays as much as possible. Energy from the sun is stored in the batteries. The solar cars can still run (for a while) on the stored energy on cloudy days. This stored energy may also be relied upon to give the car extra acceleration to make it up a hill. How the teams use up the energy really is up to them. A big component of each team’s race strategy is managing energy consumption.
Q: What are the driver requirements?
A: Drivers must be 18 years old and have a valid driver’s license from their home state/country. The cars won’t accommodate big or tall drivers. Training is mandatory – several hours of operating a solar car are required for any driver.
Q: What happens when a driver weighs less than 85 kilograms?
A: Teams must make up the difference by packing the car with more weight, such as with sand bags, to reach 85 kilograms.
Q: How do you win?
A: Winning is simple – the team that makes it to the finish point in the least total elapsed time, while following all the rules, wins. Road penalties are assessed during the race for violating rules.
Q: What academic disciplines does this race encourage?
A: Solar car racing can use a wide range of disciplines, but it is up to each team to decide which disciplines they need, depending on their strategy. Some of the more typical are mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, electronics engineering, chemical engineering, automotive engineering, business management and marketing.
Q: Are these cars safe?
A: Safety is the first priority. Before a team can officially race, its car must pass rigorous safety and reliability checks at qualifiers. Here, cars are inspected for all safety and performance standards, including braking, wet braking, steering, avoiding rollovers, surviving crashes and the ability to maintain a minimum speed of 25 mph. Teams that do not pass qualifiers, do not race.
Q: Will cars like this be common?
A: You may never drive a solar car, but what you could see are electric cars in every town and on every street, powered by batteries charged by solar panels on garages or carports. This is possible today, but the technologies still need some refinement. It's not much different than the internal combustion engine. These races are just one of the ways to demonstrate how solar power and electric transportation will be common in the future.
Q: Why solar cars if you won’t ever drive one that looks like these?
A: The North American Solar Challenge demonstrates that solar energy can provide enough electricity to power a car 2,500 miles at highway speeds. And if that’s true, just think of the hundreds of other applications for solar energy. As the technology improves, solar energy will become a more common way to power our buildings, homes and cars.
