Battery low in the fast lane

[John Bull]

I have to be careful with this one, I`ve already had two ruptures and a mild heart attack laughing so far. Anyhow, I`ve pulled my belt up tight, so here we go, I`ll risk it.

Nissan have recently issued a statement that they are to invest $620 million worth of Yens-to spare at their Sunderland plant in England to produce Electric cars.

WOW ! Just think of it, bombing down the Freeway or stuck in some big city traffic and that red light goes on. How do we play it now Coach ? And Gee, look at that tail-back.

I`m beginning to become hysterical again so I`ll ask the question :-

What do you all think of our being inundated with trundling Electric buggies clogging up the roads and Freeways with all those dead battery jobs getting stuck in front of you ?

Eat ya heart out LA, you `aint seen nuttin yet.

John Bull

 

[Kage]

I think electronic cars are the future, least in the every day going to work/getting home style.

Most electric cars are built to have a back up power source, and for example, the wheels turning could be turned into a dynamo to give some power back

They don't have to be as restrictive as your making them out to be

 

[Tommy Boy]

100% electric cars will never be. Hydrogen is the future.

Why you ask? Because hydrogen cars are exactly like the cars we drive now. Pull up to the filling station, fill the tank, pay and you're off and running until you need to fill up again. Hydrogen comes from the air we breathe and the only by product is water. I know it's a little expensive to extract hydrogen from the air, but that will change and the PHD's in this country will figure out how to do it cheaper. Eventually we will all be driving hydrogen cars and people will be able to purchase machines to make their own hydrogen. Nobody is going to wait around for an electric car to charge before they can go anywhere, people are too busy and too much in a hurry these days.

 

[John Bull]

100% electric cars will never be. Hydrogen is the future.

Why you ask? Because hydrogen cars are exactly like the cars we drive now. Pull up to the filling station, fill the tank, pay and you're off and running until you need to fill up again. Hydrogen comes from the air we breathe and the only by product is water. I know it's a little expensive to extract hydrogen from the air, but that will change and the PHD's in this country will figure out how to do it cheaper. Eventually we will all be driving hydrogen cars and people will be able to purchase machines to make their own hydrogen. Nobody is going to wait around for an electric car to charge before they can go anywhere, people are too busy and too much in a hurry these days.

WOW Tommy Boy, not a lot of people know this - but the Hindenburg was stuffed full of Hydrogen and Whammy ! It went up like a huge fireworks display in one mighty puff. Poor Adolf cried his eyes out.

I shudder to think of all those Hydrogen fill-up stations dotted around like fully armed Nukes with the careless public just waiting to press the button and OH NO not a DIY job in the garage and stacks of Hydrogen bottles all over the place like beer cans. It`s getting more horrific every second.

It smacks of so much danger that Armageddon will descend upon us all like Lucifer`s inferno with a really BIG BANG and whoosh ! we`re gone.
The whole idea should have an "X" certificate. It will make Apocalypse Now look like a kids bedtime video.

Gee, man, I hope I`m tucked well under-ground by that time.

 

[winslow33]

Gasoline, Propane, Diesel, most common fuels today are flammable. If you filled the Hindenburg with propane (although it wouldn't get off the ground) it would have done the same thing. Yet, I can go to the hardware store and purchase a nice big tank for my barbecue. Same with gasoline, Its very flammable, so thats why I don't have a cigarette while I'm filling up the tank, as I don't smoke while I'm welding. With the proper precautions, hydrogen as a fuel wouldn't be too much more dangerous than it is today.

If not hydrogen, electric cars wouldn't have to worry about running out of power that much. Longer life batteries will by then be commonplace for starters. Also, you could run out of gasoline next time your on a roadtrip, similarly to an electric car could run out of power. The difference; It doesnt take hours to refuel your diesel truck.

 

[foothead]

WOW Tommy Boy, not a lot of people know this - but the Hindenburg was stuffed full of Hydrogen and Whammy ! It went up like a huge fireworks display in one mighty puff. Poor Adolf cried his eyes out.

I shudder to think of all those Hydrogen fill-up stations dotted around like fully armed Nukes with the careless public just waiting to press the button and OH NO not a DIY job in the garage and stacks of Hydrogen bottles all over the place like beer cans. It`s getting more horrific every second.

It smacks of so much danger that Armageddon will descend upon us all like Lucifer`s inferno with a really BIG BANG and whoosh ! we`re gone.
The whole idea should have an "X" certificate. It will make Apocalypse Now look like a kids bedtime video.

Gee, man, I hope I`m tucked well under-ground by that time.

second-grade level science contradicts everything you just said. Remember that oxygen is needed for hydrogen to combust. The hydrogen you would buy at a station would be pure, from a pressurized cylinder. It cannot explode.

The hindenburg did not explode like you state either. If you watch the video, it slowly burnt. And that was because the hydrogen in it was no longer contained. As long as it remains contained, there is no way that could happen


In fact, storing pressurized propane cylinders is more dangerous than storing hydrogen. Have you ever heard of one exploding like a nuke? Not me, except in the movies. I have seen a large propane station burst though. What happened was it slowly spewed out over the course of a couple hours. The fire department was there in 5 minutes, and it never caught fire. If it had, it would have basically looked like a flamethrower going straight up. Scary, but not really a huge danger to the human race.

Oh and on the original topic of electric cars, maybe you should do a bit more research on this also. It isn't like the thing is gonna run dead with no warning. They have a battery meter just like a regualr car has a gas meter. They are designed for short commutes, say 10 miles. The battery lasts about 40 miles on average. If you have an electric car and are driving anywhere close to the max distance, you're doing it wrong. Most people with an electric car have a gas car as well for long trips. And since you charge the car every day, I have a feeling that there will be less electric cars on the side of the road with dead batteries than there are gas cars stuck with no gas.

 

[John Bull]

Hi Foothead,
Of course I know all the scientific facts concerning Hydrogen characteristics as a gas and the Hindenburg disaster as reported at the time. My dialogue WAS intended to be humorous and at the same time making a serious scientific and factual point.

I know very well that Hydrogen needs Oxygen to ignite as do almost all combustibles in order to either explode or catch fire, it is elementary chemistry.

Just a point about that SLOW burning - the Hindenburg was 804 ft. long and 135 ft. dia. It had more than 7 million Cu.ft. of Hydrogen stuffed inside it.

Burnt slow ? I do not call 34 seconds very slow for a massive gas container like that. Sounds a bit on the fast side to me.

 

[alvino]

Electric cars will never be the future as long as they're powered by batteries.

 

[John Bull]

Without wishing to turn this interesting and vitally important thread into a personal opinion exercise, I would stress that it is a matter that will have to be seriously resolved fairly quickly.

We are told by the egg-heads that global oil supplies will start to decline around 2020. Well, that sure `aint far away. Alternative means of power will have to be studied and put into practice very soon. Mind you, the scientists often forecast Armageddon and it never happens, they are prone to coming up with stupid and irresponsible statements that forecast the end of mankind will occur tomorrow.
They do not yet know why the Dinosaurs died out, without turning any scientific debate into a bun-fight.

I do not know the answer, if I did I would become a multi-millionaire overnight. One thing is certain - Electric or Hydrogen powered vehicles will never happen. One suffers from a myriad of practical non-starters and the other from a safety issue which is more demanding than trying to prevent one enormous BANG when there is a catastrophic leak in the liquid Hydrogen circuits of an orbital rocket

Electric cars - think again, they are totally impractical.
Hydrogen power - forget it unless we wish to place the entire population in a situation of immediate extinction.
Both of these ideas are credible but nothing more than Jules Verne fantasies.

Solution ? Have`nt a clue, but good luck to those who are searching for a satisfactory alternative. I reckon you are going to have to earn that PhD in real terms.

Perhaps we will all have to revert back to the reliable and trusted two wheel bike, hoop or roller skates. I will not be around to see this transformation from modern rapid and efficient mobility back to the Stone Age.

Excuse me, I have to dash off and fill my tank with a time proven good old petroleum product. Sleep well tonight ? I sure will.

John Bull

 

[foothead]

You really need to do more research on the safety of hydrogen cars. They are nothing like you describe. No there is not a major flaw that will cause thwm to go bang then catch fire. Jeez. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to rupture heavy duty pressurized gas cylinders? Shooting one with a rifle would just dent it. There are also safety features in place in case of an accident where the delivety system gets damaged. Still, the worst that could possibly happen is much less 'catastrophic' than a leaking gas tank catching fire.

Please lay off the whole exxageration that hydrogen cars will cause the human race to go extinct thing. They are safer than the cars we drive now.