I was always under the impression that large bearing surfaces are much less efficient than small bearings in large wheels. It’d be neat if they figured out a maglev style bearing, but I think cold supercontuctors would be required
There is a lot more friction surface, which is why we’ve never really reinvented the wheel.
My thought is just that the bearings are moving so much faster in a configuration like this. Normal bearings that are close to the hub usually have an inside diameter around 20-30 mm (for motorcycles, at least) and they only move as fast as the center of the wheel.
I was always under the impression that large bearing surfaces are much less efficient than small bearings in large wheels. It’d be neat if they figured out a maglev style bearing, but I think cold supercontuctors would be required
There is a lot more friction surface, which is why we’ve never really reinvented the wheel.
My thought is just that the bearings are moving so much faster in a configuration like this. Normal bearings that are close to the hub usually have an inside diameter around 20-30 mm (for motorcycles, at least) and they only move as fast as the center of the wheel.