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| thejuice |
 Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:38 pm |
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Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Posts: 3297
Location: Dena Lagu
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Wondering if there is any interest or anyone want to have a discussion on what a 'New Energy' future might be like. It's something I'm really interested in and read up about it alot. Anyone else?
To start of with, yesterday the Tesla Roadster set a record for Electric cars by travelling 313 miles on a single charge. (Yes thats the same car Top Gear fans)
http://www.teslamotors.com/media/press_room.php?id=2022
While the Electric car is not quite ready to take over the world, I feel it's only a matter of time. At the moment the Tesla Roadster is expensive and the company has limited production capacity. Also the infrastructure for EV's is not there, yet. Companies like the modestly titled Better Place are working on expanding it. http://www.betterplace.com/
One of the criticisms of EV was the charge time. Well naturally the solution is the same as any battery powered appliance. When they run out, replace them with charged ones and charge the empty ones. So rather than going to the petrol station to fill up, you just go to change your battery. Its all there on the Better place website.
Tesla's next model which they hope to have on sale by 2011 is the Model S.
This new car boasts:
- 300 mile range
- 45 minute QuickCharge
- 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds
- Seats 7 people
- 17 inch infotainment touchscreen
I suppose what I like about Tesla is that unlike previous electric cars, they dont look like a crock of shit. They actually look like something you might want to drive. Have a look at the Aptera 2E to see what I mean.
Some other companies are following their lead with some nice production models of EV's that hope to be available in the near future.
http://karma.fiskerautomotive.com/
http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/open/default/future/volt.do
http://green.autoblog.com/2008/06/26/vw-plans-first-electric-car-by-2010-now-testing-golf-twin-drive/
http://www.audi.com/com/brand/en/experience/technology_study.html#source=http://www.audi.com/com/brand/en/experience/audi_gallery.html&container=page
Hydrogen for now, anyway, while plentiful has a nasty habit of sticking to oxygen and is proving difficult to seperate the two in a energy efficent way and is quite volumous when stored as a liquid. But it's still possible that it may Hydrogen take over, technology is improving all the time.
And on that note, Tesla (I'm not paid by them by the way) are working with a Japanese company on developing the Lithium Air battery which theoretically increases power storage and reduces weight considerably which, as I say theoretically, could improve an electric cars range ten fold.
http://mid-autumn2008.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-lithiumair-battery-having-unique.html
Thoughts? |
Last edited by thejuice on Tue Apr 23, 2013 6:25 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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| Stephen Ireland |
| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:41 pm |
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Joined: 24 Apr 2009
Posts: 341
Location: Starting 11, Aston Villa FC, Birmingham, England.
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Most of our electricity comes from fossil fuels anyway, I don't see what the benefit will ultimately be.
I suggest a few kittens in a small glass cage. Throw in a ball of string and try to harness their energy somehow. |
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| thejuice |
| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:43 pm |
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Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Posts: 3297
Location: Dena Lagu
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| Well yes it currently does, but in the future........ |
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| Era VulgaChris |
| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:46 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 11754
Location: dionysian denial
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| Era VulgaChris |
| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:46 pm |
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Joined: 06 Jun 2005
Posts: 11754
Location: dionysian denial
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| Oh, I didn't actually read that before posting it. Result is also perpetual motion. |
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| Byron |
| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:55 pm |
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Joined: 10 Sep 2005
Posts: 2931
Location: Somewhere complaining about something
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The thing i'm most excited about are any advances in Neurology, especially the treatment of diseases like Parkinsons. I'm a psychology student so Neurology for me is pretty interesting and/or essential  Also the mapping of genes and their function along with advances in computing in general. |
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| I_Got_Banned |
| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:02 pm |
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Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 278
Location: Hideing with the people under the stairs.
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Byron wrote: The thing i'm most excited about are any advances in Neurology, especially the treatment of diseases like Parkinsons. I'm a psychology student so Neurology for me is pretty interesting and/or essential Also the mapping of genes and their function along with advances in computing in general.
I keep forgetting to ask you Byron: Whos that getting ball whacked in yer avatar?
Anywho: Like it was allreay said electric cars = fossil feuls etc.
I still dont understand why people (especially in the USA) are so dead against new nuclear power plants. The new ones have far higher safety ratings than the old ones....and one of them has yet to explode in the states. "But what of 3 mile Island??", well? What of it? Crisis averted, beers all round
30 years later and still no melt down. So surely these new plants would last even longer than 30 years without a catastrophe? We need more nuclear energy  |
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| thejuice |
| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:25 pm |
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Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Posts: 3297
Location: Dena Lagu
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Well, that was going to be my next point, but I had to go to the take away. (BBQ pork in Black bean sauce and chicken friend rice, if your interested)
In the next century what we will see and this is a prediction I'm making based on what I've read and lectures I've attended, is that our electricity will be from nuclear, wind and solar power. Solar will play a bigger role than wind, the price of solar panels is dropping steadily almost to the point of being cheaper than coal.
http://www.nanosolar.com/
And so moving to an electric car in the future will make sense.
Currently it still makes sense. Price of electricity vs petrol, you would be making a massive saving. Also in terms of using fossil fuels, internal combustion engines are not efficient despite improvements over the last number of years, even hybrids aren't that great.
Fossil fuel reserves are from what I've researched better spent producing electricity in a power station than moving your car. |
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| eddie |
| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:57 pm |
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Joined: 28 Jun 2008
Posts: 97
Location: Bustin' a Myth
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Quote: (BBQ pork in Black bean sauce and chicken friend rice, if your interested)
Resorting to cannibalism? 
Interesting topic, I haven't really read into this much but when I saw the Honda FCX on Top Gear I thought that would inevitably win out.
You might find this interesting.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/features/article2744803.ece |
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| thejuice |
| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:06 pm |
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Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Posts: 3297
Location: Dena Lagu
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Byron wrote: The thing i'm most excited about are any advances in Neurology, especially the treatment of diseases like Parkinsons. I'm a psychology student so Neurology for me is pretty interesting and/or essential Also the mapping of genes and their function along with advances in computing in general.
Any good links about what they are doing in that.
Another note on the USA and its energy. There is currently 3,500 square miles of land in the USA being lined up for solar production. Large areas of the Arizona desert are covered in solar panels and parabolic mirrors producing electricity.
In regard nuclear power, have a look at this, https://lasers.llnl.gov/
these people are hoping to create nuclear fusion using lasers. While I cant imagine it happening soon or being available in my lifetime, they have spent $3.5billion on it so they reckon it must be worth while.
Another nod in the direction of an electricity led society is the development of a smart grid, making better use of the power generated in plants and self generated.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid |
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| thejuice |
| Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:19 pm |
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Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Posts: 3297
Location: Dena Lagu
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eddie wrote: Quote: (BBQ pork in Black bean sauce and chicken friend rice, if your interested)
Resorting to cannibalism?
Interesting topic, I haven't really read into this much but when I saw the Honda FCX on Top Gear I thought that would inevitably win out.
You might find this interesting.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/features/article2744803.ece
Yeah, well you should all get used to eating your friends.
Soilent Green, food of the future.
But what I've just read from that article, hydrogen is used in these cars to produce Electricity which powers your car.
Now I'm not sure but is it more efficient to store energy as hydrogen and convert it into electricity or to store energy as electricity in a battery? Anyone know? and how do you get the hydrogen in the 1st place? |
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| bossisdead |
| Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:50 am |
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Joined: 20 Sep 2006
Posts: 1049
Location: Stalingrad
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Irish chap hitting it big with Arnie and McCain.
CEO of Innovalight, innovative power company who's home is now silicon valley. Interesting enough even though he doesnt talk a lot about what the company actually does: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o354xoCZQxI |
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| Halo |
| Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:57 am |
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Joined: 07 Jun 2005
Posts: 2930
Location: London
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I_Got_Banned wrote: electric cars = fossil feuls (sic)
BUT even the coal fired stations release less carbon than fuelling individual cars by petrol or diesel due to their higher effciency.
Another the point is moving to all-electric cars now means that we can work on one problem only which is the clean generation of large scale power and once that is done the car fleet is instantly clean along with households and anything else using the power generated by this clean technology, whether that be nuclear, wind, or science fiction
Nuclear power is in theory is great, one tiny problem the technology used is still 30 years old, the most recent commercial plant was finished in 1996 they started building it in 1973! The technology needs a complete refresh.
People in the Republic can sign up for:
Airtricity - http://www.airtricity.com/ireland/ (79% renewables)
While the UK has:
Airtricity - http://www.airtricity.com (100% renewables)
and
Ecotricity - http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/ (45.6% renewable (+16% nuclear)) |
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| I_Got_Banned |
| Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 2:51 pm |
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Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 278
Location: Hideing with the people under the stairs.
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Ooooops, i misspelled fuel (sic)
Anyway, i stand by my "more nuclear power plants" stance. Its almost as good as the mark gormely stance. |
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| thejuice |
| Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2009 2:01 am |
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Joined: 20 Aug 2006
Posts: 3297
Location: Dena Lagu
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Some good points raised there by Halo, that if we have just one means of power it makes things more streamlined. Our households are run on electricity so why not our cars.
Another Response To Eddie in regards the Honda FCX
The long haired guy on Top Gear made a point when talking of the benefits of Hydrogen Fuel cells and why the future was that it matches the infrastructure that is already in place "unlike battery". While I can see where he's coming from I think he is skipping over a few key things.
Well, the room I'm sitting in now has 6 electric sockets ready to instantly pour energy into whatever appliance I so wish whenever I want it, so to say that the infrastructure isn't there is absolute nonsense. Its as readily available if not more than Hydrogen.
Another thing about the episode of Top Gear where they ran the electric car short and heralded the hydrogen car as the saviour and future was the unanimous approval they gave it, despite being a Honda. If you care to watch it again yourself I find it slightly odd how they were so ready to give it the thumbs up. See for yourselves.
The Top Gear guys have the ear of so many people across the world in regards car performance (deservedly or not), its hard to imagine them not being in the pocket of some car manufacturer or fuel company when needs be.
Even some of the points raised in that episode at the end. That creating pure hydrogen is no more difficult than drilling for oil. That is all well and good but, what fuels the process to create pure hydrogen. Well that would be fossil fuels like oil for instance.
I, obviously don't have the exact figures but when it comes down to making your wheels spin, I feel the electric car is where we should be going to.
Although we could all be driving algae fuelled cars soon, [pdf]
http://www.exxonmobil.com/corporate/files/news_pub_algae_factsheet.pdf |
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