Comment Re:Gyroscopes (Score 1) 363
I work for the Automation and Controls department of a very large company and we are exploring this technology. This is a very real problem, but the solution is pretty easy. Instead of using just one large flywheel, use many smaller ones. You can then take these smaller flywheels and pair them together but have them rotate in opposite directions, this way they negate each other.
Other people have asked, "why not just convert it back to electricity?" This is a solution for some rail lines but not all. It depends on the transmission system used by the railway. Most likely it is an AC system. Now its easy to just turn the train motors into generators to stop, but now you have to perform power filtering and conversion twice. You need to convert it to DC and then back to AC in order to get the correct frequency (AC to AC frequency changes are very hard) Next you have to get your phase correct when you send it back out on the line... It is expensive to have all of this equipement on a single train. Thus, flywheels have emerged as a solution for now.
Other people have asked, "why not just convert it back to electricity?" This is a solution for some rail lines but not all. It depends on the transmission system used by the railway. Most likely it is an AC system. Now its easy to just turn the train motors into generators to stop, but now you have to perform power filtering and conversion twice. You need to convert it to DC and then back to AC in order to get the correct frequency (AC to AC frequency changes are very hard) Next you have to get your phase correct when you send it back out on the line... It is expensive to have all of this equipement on a single train. Thus, flywheels have emerged as a solution for now.
