Intimidating Drivers

[Midniteoyl]

Kinda like those people who hate Semi's 'cause truckers 'always intimidate the little car'.

 

[Midniteoyl]

If I had known how much the Prius would wind up bugging a lot of people, I would have bought two of them. That's how I roll.

 

[bcp]

When battery technology reaches the point where quick charge transfers can take place, ...

I don't know why some people think there are still great advancements in batteries yet?

Check recent developments in "ultracapacitors" or 'super capacitors."

From:
MIT Energy Research Council : Research Spotlight

Saying goodbye to batteries

Researchers at MIT are developing a new device that has the potential to hold as much energy as a conventional battery but could be recharged in seconds rather than hours, would last almost indefinitely, and won't mind the cold. The device could prove the first economically viable alternative to today's battery. It could one day yield a practical all-electric car and provide electricity storage critical to using intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind.

=================================
Here are some more:
Bringing Batteries and Capacitors Together

Supercapacitors: The (near-ish) future of batteries | DVICE

 

[aczlan]

Check recent developments in "ultracapacitors" or 'super capacitors."

From:
MIT Energy Research Council : Research Spotlight

Saying goodbye to batteries

Researchers at MIT are developing a new device that has the potential to hold as much energy as a conventional battery but could be recharged in seconds rather than hours, would last almost indefinitely, and won't mind the cold. The device could prove the first economically viable alternative to today's battery. It could one day yield a practical all-electric car and provide electricity storage critical to using intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind.

=================================
Here are some more:
Bringing Batteries and Capacitors Together

Supercapacitors: The (near-ish) future of batteries | DVICE

Just dont get into an accident and short out your supercap... It could produce a "bang" that would put a movie gas tank explosion to shame.

Aaron Z

 

[buickanddeere]

Check recent developments in "ultracapacitors" or 'super capacitors."

From:
MIT Energy Research Council : Research Spotlight

Saying goodbye to batteries

Researchers at MIT are developing a new device that has the potential to hold as much energy as a conventional battery but could be recharged in seconds rather than hours, would last almost indefinitely, and won't mind the cold. The device could prove the first economically viable alternative to today's battery. It could one day yield a practical all-electric car and provide electricity storage critical to using intermittent energy sources such as solar and wind.

=================================
Here are some more:
Bringing Batteries and Capacitors Together

Supercapacitors: The (near-ish) future of batteries | DVICE

Great if they work, last and are affordable. Time will tell.

 

[houstonscott]

Ill buy electric when range is over 600miles charge time is under 5 mins and batteries weight are well under 100lbs and last for 500k miles and costs are same or less than high pressure diesel and the acid bath I might have to take in an accident and creat a super fund site not counting burning my house down when it recharges are solved.

HS

 

[MossRoad]

While you're at it why don't you eat some food from lead cans.... that was cutting edge tech, too, in its day.

 

[dave1949]

Quote Originally Posted by dave1949 View Post
Recaptured energy (regenerative braking) is energy too, it just isn't being 100% wasted in the form of heat dissipation.

The ultimate clean and cheap energy source is the sun. When battery technology reaches the point where quick charge transfers can take place, higher storage capacity, etc., batteries charged from solar panels or wind turbines will convert solar energy to motive energy. Battery research and development is not standing still, the costs of climate change are driving this effort, however indirectly.

It is short-sighted to assume that batteries are, or can be, only charged by burning a fossil fuel somewhere other than in an engine. It just ain't so. At current solar PV prices, it is easy to achieve equivalent fuel costs of 50 mpg in an EV. The technology is not even half-mature yet.

*************************************************************************************

I don't know why some people think there are still great advancements in batteries yet? There is a max amount of energy that a battery can store per pound of battery and that is it. There is no way to engineer a battery to do the equivalent of pouring 25 gallons of gasoline into a 5 gallon tank.
Rapid charging and rapid discharge is limited by heat. Forget about low cost reliable battery banks that can be rapid charged in the time it takes to pump 20 gallons of gasoline.
Don't go thinking there are technological breakthroughs in solar panels just around the corner either. 10 square ft of solar panels flat on a car roof isn't going to charge very much either. Ever look at the dismal performance of the light weight solar go-karts the students build for cross country races.
Solar panels and wind turbines? Obviously the eco renewable energy wizards do not ask about the impact of solar and wind turbines on the national power grid. Last time I checked people drive in the daytime and park at night. Where is your solar charging? Wind power is unreliable and must be backed up with gas, coal or hydro-electric.
An electric car owned and used by a well paid engineer who owns tools,resides on a rural estate having solar panels and a wind turbine is one thing. Joe above average $45hr living in a small town or city is another matter with an eco vehicle is another. Then there is Joe average $25hr living in rural areas and must travel longer distances on lower quality roads.
If you want clean energy. Use abundant natural gas and convert it to methanol via nuclear steam.

Battery research is continuing.
New rechargeable flow battery could enable cheaper, more efficient energy storage

High storage capacity and quick charge transfers would allow power to be accumulated at your home in the daytime from solar, then transferred to your EV at night. The ability to store and transfer power from batteries, or another storage device, uncouples the "drive during the daytime" problem.

This isn't a cross-country go-kart race; it's people using their vehicles on a fairly predictable schedule. Sure, there will good and bad solar or wind production days.

The same applies to wind turbines. They do make power, sometimes so much they must be derated because the grid cannot use it all. If that power can be efficiently stored until needed, then it is much more usable.

Solar and wind are not "on-demand" sources but they are being coupled to a grid that has always been an on-demand design. We assume that power is available for whatever, whenever, because that's the way it's always been.

Natural gas is not carbon neutral, methane is a very potent greenhouse gas--about 10-15 times more potent than CO2 actually. Unless the case can be made that fracking, blown wells, greenhouse gas, etc. are good for the earth and the things that live upon it, let's cut to the chase and minimize those destructive activities as much as possible.

There are certainly things/uses that will need to rely on fossil fuels well into the future. There are also many electrical loads that can be supplied with solar and wind if we have the technology to do so. That technology is growing every year.

 

[RobertN]

On one of our trips to the bay to sail, a friend drove. They have a Prius. for all the banter about the Jeff Dunham video's etc, I found it was comfortable for the five of us. I'm 6'2"; the 1.5 hours drive was plenty comfortable. And, it was plenty zippy to get up the hills here.

Don't underestimate the acceleration of the Prius. The electric motor has high torque and it kicks in when you put the pedal to the metal and has no problems passing on a hill or on the freeway. The inside room of the Prius is the same as the Camry. It just looks smaller, so it can fit 5 no prob. It is classified as a mid-size sedan, not a compact car (except for the Prius C).

 

[RobertN]

As long as topic is drifting...

I found this interesting. I always thought the Allis G was so ugly it was cool...

They are still a popular cultivator for small farms; in fact there is a company making
Tuff-bilt Tractor System - Affordable and Innovative

There are also a few folks that are setting them up all electric. Interesting concept...
Allis Chalmers "G" Electric Cultivating and Seeding Tractor Conversion Project