Meet the 14-year-old girl from Odisha who has invented a fuel-free bike

With the increasing levels of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the air, big cities in India have been suffocating with harmful pollutants. In these times, 14-year-old Odisha girl Tejaswini Priyadarshini has invented an 'air bike' which runs at up to 60 km per hour.

A cylinder with 10 kg of compressed air is mounted to the back of a bicycle with no pedals. Tejaswini got this thought when she was visiting a cycle-repair shop. Fascinated by how the mechanics made use of air guns to remove the knots in the tyres, she applied the same concept of an air gun which runs on air pressure. Speaking with The Telegraph, she said, "I thought if an air gun can do that, it could also run a bicycle. I discussed my idea with my father who encouraged me a lot and helped me out with equipment to carry out experiments."

Long before her efforts paid off, she worked very hard with the little resources she had. Despite many failures, she kept trying. When she rode the bicycle for a few kilometres one day, she realised her attempts had finally started to pay off. Her father always encouraged her with her experiments. He even bought an air tank with an inlet to fill in air. The tank was fixed with a starting knob, a measuring dial, and a safety valve. The safety valve was used to eliminate the excess air from the tank. Turning the knob on, the air is sent from the cylinder to the air gun, which is installed near the paddle. The paddle rotates the gear with the help of six different blades. This entire mechanism results in the motion of the bicycle.

Tejaswini's father Natwar Gocchayat told The Telegraph, "The bicycle can run for 60 km on 10 kg of air. The same technique can be used for motorcycles and cars. Priyadarshani won accolades for her invention from many experts. The bicycle can also be used by the disabled and people who care about the environment can also use it to cut down on the use of fossil fuels."

Speaking to The Telegraph, Tejaswini added, "If a similar concept is used for a motorcycle, it will not need petrol or diesel since it would be entirely powered by air. If the motorbikes run on air, bikers will not have to pay large petrol bills. My prime intent was to create a pollution-free vehicle."

This wonder girl from Odisha is looking forward to presenting her work at state- and national-level exhibitions.

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