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Jonathanr
Posts: 3168
Incept: 2008-05-16
Melbourne, Australia
Banned
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Karl,
I'd like to (hopefully respectfully) take you to task on this 'batterys have to carry their own oxidizer' meme.
While this might be technically correct, after taking into account the thermal inefficiency of an internal combustion engine compared with battery/electric, the benefits of not having to carry the oxidizer are all but obliterated.
I'd suggest looking for a new meme.
I personally think that electric vehicles, while not the silver bullet for all applications, would probably cover 95% of the utility for at least 60% of the private vehicle population. The range of the majority of trips for a big percentage of the population is well within established EV ranges, and the duty cycle of most vehicles is probably less than 10%.
EVs don't have to totally replace all hydrocarbon fueled vehicles to make an effective contribution.
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Why do you complain? It's the criminals who decide how proceeds of crime are spent, not the victims.
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Gamma
Posts: 5732
Incept: 2008-01-20
Northern CA
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The smelley deal with batteries also extends to charge time. There is not an insurmountable problem developing multi-hundred amp connectors at a typical refueling/recharging station, but it is potentially a difficult problem.
Even so, this is simply not something you want to have going on zillions of times a day...moving hundreds of amps of current. Batteries explode, weak connections arc and cause fires, cable assemblies weigh 90 lbs. Besides, the wiring necessary is a pretty big deal, wherever you originate that high current....either in the grid, or, at the charging station. If people can get themselves stranded, unable to get moving without a 3-4-hour charge cycle, it's also not so great. Perhaps there could be a standard battery pack that would fit into every car and one could buy and not especially own, already charged, at a charging station.
I agree with the general concept, that if a 100 mile radius electrocar could be developed, it could potentially serve a great many applications.
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This stuff we're going through, this is nothing compared to the Middle Ages.
They told me if I voted for John McCain, an idiot would be a heartbeat away from the presidency. Sure enough...
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Jonathanr
Posts: 3168
Incept: 2008-05-16
Melbourne, Australia
Banned
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Quote:Perhaps there could be a standard battery pack that would fit into every car and one could buy and not especially own, already charged, at a charging station. If entreprenurial spirit prevailed, you'd have a standardized tow-hitch and connector on each vehicle, and companies would deliver small trailer mounted gen-sets or battery packs on a hire basis in emergency scenarios. Additionally, a network of hire places would sprout up just like petrol stations. If you were getting low, you could drop in and hook one up. Return it to another location or back to the same location if convenient. But for the most part, you'd plug in at work or at home, when charge-time doesn't matter.
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Why do you complain? It's the criminals who decide how proceeds of crime are spent, not the victims.
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Bubblesee
Posts: 4120
Incept: 2007-06-27
nyc
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Gen,
Great ticker and blogtalk but forget about those eels.
If they cant fix this situation the oil could be gushing out of there for MONTHS at a minumum and some are saying YEARS!!!
Were already on Day 33?
EEK.
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Ticker Forum Special:
"Bennie and the Feds" Melody:Elton John Lyrics:Bubblesee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etfVMtCq9Oc
(Larry Kudblow eat your heart out)
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Alex
Posts: 2439
Incept: 2007-08-03
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"Bbg" wrote..The German Finance Ministry proposes to ban the so-called naked short selling of all shares of German companies listed on German exchanges, as well as naked short sales of euro region bonds admitted for trading on German exchanges. The proposed law would also ban naked sales of some credit default swaps on euro region bonds. The discussion paper also aims to ban certain euro currency derivatives.
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"The soft patch does not occur in year 2. This is a completely abnormal economic condition — all the more so in the context of the massive and ongoing fiscal and monetary stimulus."
—Rosenberg
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Abn0rmal
Posts: 9261
Incept: 2009-01-10
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Jonathanr wrote..'batterys have to carry their own oxidizer' meme. There exists now (in the lab) batteries that use oxygen from the atmosphere instead of carrying around inside the package: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_air.... These cells are theoretically capable of storing 11140 W-h/kg, as compared to 250 W-h/kg for lithium ion batteries. |
Ls2gto
Posts: 482
Incept: 2007-08-30
East Coast
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Small Turbo-Diesel engines.
They will tolerate a wider variety of fuels from all sources than spark-ignition engines, and it will be another 25+ years before electric powertrains can match the power density of a piston diesel engine.
Keep developing alternative powertrains, but don't bet the farm on them yet. Remember fuel cells? The industry was convinced that they would be mainstream by 2010.
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Tonyw
Posts: 10
Incept: 2009-10-14
England
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Bubblesee, BP have issed a 13 minute informative video explaining what they are doing, worth watching IMHO http://bp.concerts.com/gom/kentwells_upd....There are about 22,000 people and over 1,000 vessels working on this. Pretty much all technology is being used, there are no instant fixes. Most of this stuff has not been done at these depths so it's try and see e.g. the top hat dome. If the top kill doesn't work they are working on a better "tube" or riser pipe to fit above the BOP.
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Think if the future of all human civilisation depended on me, what would I do, how would I be?
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Asimov
Posts: 104683
Incept: 2007-08-26
East Tennessee Eastern Time
Online
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Pretty sure they already have it on the sea floor nearby. The problem with that is that they have to cut the riser out of the way to try it - opening the flow wide and if it doesn't work... No chance till the relief well is finished and they've made the leak worse.
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It's justifiably immoral to deal morally with an immoral entity.
If you trade based on what other people say, you will lose money. Especially what I say. I won't be held responsible. Festina lente.
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Lastchance
Posts: 1276
Incept: 2008-11-19
Las Vegas
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Genesis
Tremendous radio show 5/24 and I don't say that lightly. The BP disaster (and that is what it is) has been been quite a topic amongst friends. My conclusion is that all of us just want to go to a service station (when one is old like me, that is still what one thinks of them as) and put a nozzle into the car without any consideration for how that gasoline gets to the station. Of course, there are staggering risks from oil well to gas pump. That is life. Risk on a daily basis.
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"Now we have a thousand dollar television that has nothing on it" Karl Denniger re: speech 5/24/10
Value = priceless. I can't help it. Too funny.
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Swarf_maker
Posts: 124
Incept: 2008-10-18
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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Karl, I know that on first look this appears to be a crackpot idea, but I don't think so. It doesn't fit the pattern. He has a bunch of heavy hitters on his board of directors. If it is for real, it will pretty much solve the problem of energy dependence. It is at least worth a look. http://www.blacklightpower.com/index.sht....
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"Eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty." Andrew Jackson
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Alex
Posts: 2439
Incept: 2007-08-03
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Rotten to the core. Quote:LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The Greek Finance Ministry on Tuesday said it would shake up its tax office, replacing directors who failed to meet collection targets and opening an internal inquiry into allegations of bribery, forgery and other offenses. In a statement, the ministry said it would replace 20 directors whose regional tax offices failed to meet collection targets and relocate 70 employees across Greece to strengthen collection and auditing processes. The ministry said its internal probe would investigate 50 complaints against employees in 31 tax offices, 10 customs agencies and various financial agencies. The ministry said it will also investigate 234 employees who haven't filed taxes for 2007-2008 and will cross-check income statements and real estate holdings of ministry employees for discrepancies in tax and income statements.
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"The soft patch does not occur in year 2. This is a completely abnormal economic condition — all the more so in the context of the massive and ongoing fiscal and monetary stimulus."
—Rosenberg
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Winstonsmith2009
Posts: 1061
Incept: 2009-08-05
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Uwe
Posts: 6576
Incept: 2009-01-03
19446
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Quote:If entreprenurial spirit prevailed, you'd have a standardized tow-hitch and connector on each vehicle, and companies would deliver small trailer mounted gen-sets or battery packs on a hire basis in emergency scenarios. Wow, I really like the towable gen-set idea! But I wanna make or buy it, not rent it. If the car can be charged from a standard 240V AC outlet, this should is pretty straightforward and the same gen-set would make a dandy back-up generator for your house. Something on the order of 25kW should be able to keep a car at highway cruise speeds indefinitely. This is going to require an engine capable of putting out about 40hp indefinitely, so probably about 50hp peak. Mounting such a gen-set and say, a 20 gallon tank on a trailer isn't rocket science. Make mine diesel please. The biggest question is whether the all-electric cars currently available are capable accepting external power from their charger input while being driven..? -Uwe-
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“Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience.” - John Locke
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Peterm99
Posts: 5179
Incept: 2009-03-21
SoCal
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Quote:. . . a standard battery pack that would fit into every car and one could buy and not especially own, already charged, at a charging station. This concept sounds like it could be made to work. It has worked quite well for the fuel containers for home gas BBQs (at least here in So Cal, don't know about the rest of the country). The form factor and the fittings are standardized and the locations where one can exchange (for a fee that also includes the cost of the gas) an empty one for a full one are ubiquitous. Essentially, you "own" the energy container that you happen to have in your physical possession. Quote:. . . the towable gen-set idea! I see this as just a more cumbersome implementation of the hybrid-electric concept, i.e., having a small IC engine operating in its optimal efficiency range providing the energy necessary to operate an electric power train in the vehicle. Towing around a generator would be more efficient in a big picture sense ONLY if it were required to be used extremely infrequently
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". . . the Constitution has died, the economy welters in irreversible decline, we have perpetual war, all power lies in the hands of the executive, the police are supreme, and a surveillance beyond Orwell’s imaginings falls into place." - Fred Reed
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Jonathanr
Posts: 3168
Incept: 2008-05-16
Melbourne, Australia
Banned
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Exchangable battery packs are a manual handling nightmare. An standardized emergency tow-hitch and electrical coupling would effect the same functionality without having to have battery interchange equipment. Additionally, only the hitch interface needs to be standardized, and the power module (be it a fully charged battery pack or a gen-set) can be whatever a manufacturer wishes it to be (within realistic weight and size limits).
Yes, it would only be intended for emergency use (trailer battery pack) or long-distance travel (trailer gen-set).
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Why do you complain? It's the criminals who decide how proceeds of crime are spent, not the victims.
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Peterm99
Posts: 5179
Incept: 2009-03-21
SoCal
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Jonathanr wrote..Exchangable battery packs are a manual handling nightmare. Thinking about it a little more, I have to agree. The picture I had in my mind originally was a (current) car battery that could be exchanged, rather than the hundred (or more!) Kg battery packs required for most electric cars.
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". . . the Constitution has died, the economy welters in irreversible decline, we have perpetual war, all power lies in the hands of the executive, the police are supreme, and a surveillance beyond Orwell’s imaginings falls into place." - Fred Reed
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