Swiss catamaran is the first vehicle ever to cross the Atlantic on solar power
There are many who believe that solar power is only applicable when it is stationary. Apparently, there are some who disagree with this assessment. A Swiss-made catamaran, known as the Sun21, has just become the first motorized vehicle ever to cross the Atlantic Ocean while using no fuel. The vessel is 14 meters (about 42 feet) long and is equipped with 60 square meters of solar panels. The crew plans to double up on the adventure, running next to New York.
"There's hardly any vibration, the solar panels provide us with shade and, unlike a sailing boat, we make good headway even when there's no wind," crewmember Beat von Scarpatetti said on his blog. Obviously, boats have been making this trip using no fuel for a long time, relying on wind power. In fact, the boat traveled roughly the same route that Columbus used when he first crossed the Atlantic in the 15th century.
I find it rather interesting that it took this long to progress from the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean on wind power to finally doing it again using no fuel, this time with solar. Interesting and cool.
[Source: Transatlantic21 via Swiss Info]
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