Solar powered car breaks world record

17 Jun 2002

A solar-powered car built by researchers at Queen's University, Canada, has broken the world long-distance record by traveling more than 4 000 km. The team passed the landmark last week and hope to complete a 6 500 km journey.

Radiance, which placed a close second in last October's World Solar Car Challenge in Australia and has a top speed of 125km/h, left July 1 from Halifax, Canada and will travel through 36 towns and cities before arriving, clear skies willing, in Vancouver.

The idea came about when long-time solar car faculty supervisor Steve Harrison said, "Let's do something exciting this summer," explains commerce student Alexis Tremblay, the team's business manager. "We've been building on success over the past 12 years. It was something to keep the team working towards, and there were no big races scheduled for the summer."

Fifteen students are on the tour, he says. "It's a multidisciplinary effort. There are 10 engineering students and the rest are in Arts and Science and Commerce."

The Canadian terrain promises several challenges but the team is confident that their commitment and racing experience will result in a record-breaking tour.

"The team is warmed up and excited about the trip," says Mr. Tremblay. Not only is the world distance record in their sights, the team wants to build awareness of energy-efficient technologies, especially among children, he says. He and event manager, commerce student Melodie Berg, will arrive about an hour before the solar car pulls into each community and set up shop. Their presentation, which includes games and interactive displays, will stress the value of post-secondary education and the ways that innovative science can lead to environmentally friendly technologies. "We want to them to learn how the solar car works and get them excited about the idea of renewable energy. We want to teach them that there are practical solutions to environmental problems such as pollution."

A trip schedule and other details are available at: www.solarcar.queensu.ca.