{"59893":{"#nid":"59893","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tech Graduate Attempts To Break World Record","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech graduate is preparing to attempt a world record for an effort that has proved a source of debate and frustration for many: can a vehicle powered by the wind travel downwind at a speed faster than the wind?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERick Cavallaro, who earned a degree in aerospace\u0026nbsp;engineering\u0026nbsp;from Tech in 1984, is\u0026nbsp;hoping\u0026nbsp;to prove his theory on Friday using a\u0026nbsp;vehicle\u0026nbsp;he helped design and build. The attempted feat will take place in the dry El Mirage Lake bed in San Bernardino County, Calif.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis project has has been the source of frustration and debate for both engineers and physicists. But Cavallaro claims his vehicle has already traveled more than twice as fast than the wind during one test.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022It\u0027s so counterintuitive to so many people,\u0022 Cavallaro said. \u0022People on the Internet are saying it can\u0027t be done.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe vehicle \u2013 dubbed the Blackbird \u2013  is being\u0026nbsp;sponsored\u0026nbsp;by Google and Joby Energy and was helped constructed with assistance from San Jose State University.The North American Land Sailing Association will be on hand Friday to certify the results.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECavallaro has been documenting the process and preparations at his website, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.fasterthanthewind.org\u0022 title=\u0022www.fasterthanthewind.org\u0022\u003Ewww.fasterthanthewind.org\u003C\/a\u003E, and hopes to quell the doubts of naysayers while opening up fascinating new possibilities regarding the potential of wind power.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We don\u0027t claim it\u0027s perpetual motion,\u0022 he said. \u0022We\u0027re not saying we\u0027ve solved all the transportation problems. But these are interesting new applications involving harvesting wind power.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech graduate is preparing to set a world record for an effort that has proved a source of debate and frustration for many: can a vehicle powered by the wind travel downwind at a speed faster than the wind?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A Georgia Tech graduate is preparing to attempt a world record for a vehicle traveling downwind at a speed faster than the wind."}],"uid":"15436","created_gmt":"2010-07-01 11:19:01","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:07:03","author":"Automator","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-07-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-07-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"59894":{"id":"59894","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech graduate Rick Cavallaro\u0027s wind-powered vehicle, the Blackbird","body":null,"created":"1449176239","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:57:19","changed":"1475894517","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:57","alt":"Georgia Tech graduate Rick Cavallaro\u0027s wind-powered vehicle, the Blackbird","file":{"fid":"191024","name":"BUFC_5.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/BUFC_5_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/BUFC_5_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":24943,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/BUFC_5_0.jpg?itok=8_eS4GY6"}}},"media_ids":["59894"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.fasterthanthewind.org\/","title":"Ride Like the Wind (Only Faster)"}],"groups":[{"id":"1317","name":"News Briefs"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"10223","name":"aerospace engineering; wind; vehicle; blackbird; rick cavallaro"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDon Fernandez\n\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:don.fernandez@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Edon.fernandez@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\n404-894-6016\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["don.fernandez@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}