Electron wrote:
> Does a rapidly spinning flywheen cause some effect noticeable on the
> dynamics of a vehicle?

Yes, it's called precession(sp?).  That's why they are sometimes gimballed
in vehicles.

> And, when using a flywheel as electrical energy storage, how do they
> add energy to it if it's already spinning very fast?

By making it spin even faster.  Energy is proportional to speed squared.

> If I imagine it
> like an electric motor virtually free of friction, and with big
> rotational inertia, there's a limit in which I would have to put a
> large voltage accross it to make it accelerate.

You don't just put a large voltage accross something.  Think brushless DC
motor.

> Do these limits exist
> too in those systems (e.g. the one by NASA) or are there more clever
> ways to add energy?

Energy is speed squared.  Just like any storage system, there is a limit to
what it can store.  If you try to make the flywheel spin too fast, something
will break in a rather spectacular fashion.


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