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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ken Adams who wrote (51508)	9/23/2006 1:00:29 PM
From: ManyMoose	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

This may not be relevant to locomotion, but I read that cell phone batteries may be replaced by capacitors. The difference being that the chemical downside of spent batteries is avoided. Capacitors directly store electrical energy. Boy, if you could make a capacitor big enough to power a car, it would probably turn you to a cinder if you were ever dumb enough to touch the thing.

To: Ken Adams who wrote (51508)	9/23/2006 5:37:45 PM
From: Oeconomicus	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 90947

There was news a week or two ago about BMW's new 7 series switchable gas/hydrogen model. It's got an internal combustion engine that will run on hydrogen or gasoline. Of course, when on hydrogen, it emits only water vapor. The dual fuel capability overcomes the problem of a lack of many hydrogen filling stations. The car has a range of 450 miles with the hydrogen tank taking it 125 miles and the gas tank adding another 300. The car is set to be introduced here in 2007. Of course, a 7 series Beemer isn't an option for most people, but then early adopters don't usually come from median income households. ;-)

To: Ken Adams who wrote (51508)	9/26/2006 4:59:30 PM
From: TimF	Respond to of 90947

Hydrogen does have excellent energy density by weight, but it has low physical density and thus pour energy density by volume. You either have to put it under enormous pressure, or combine it with other elements (reducing the energy density by weight and increasing the complexity of the whole operation), or you need to liquefy it (which requires super cold storage). Also hydrogen needs to be produced and it takes a lot of energy to produce it. Sure its common in the universe but it isn't common on earth except as parts of compounds like water, methane etc. Freeing hydrogen from those compounds is normally energy intensive. On the radio the other day, Paul Harvey predicted we would be driving automobiles powered this way in about 5 years. I'd say, "don't bet on it". BWDIK? I agree with you.