"Jaques wrote in message
from The Natural Philosopher contains these words:
Bob Hobden wrote:

Fact is... All the major manufacturers and significant others are
working
flat out on Fuel Cell engines which produce no pollution except steam.

Wrong. The hydrogen has to be made. An innefficent process that burns as
much, if not more, fossil fuel than any other form of transport.

Not quite true, fuel cells don't burn anything and Hydrogen can be obtained
from the usual sources, LPG, Petrol, Natural Gas, methane, methanol etc by
the use of a reformer which is significantly more efficient and less
polluting than when the same fuel is burnt.


Better to use batteries, and then whilst the electricity generation is
still

an issue, as with hydrogen, at least there is no need to build a huge

new infrasturcture of hydrogen supply and handling equipment.

And just how do you think electricity to charge the batteries is
produced? With a loss approaching 30% at every stage: thermal value of
fuel for power station to power delivered at charger (taking in power
loss in transmission lines), charging the accumulator, discharging the
accumulator all taken into account, the net result is a great deal more
pollution to propel your so-called clean electric vehicle.

Electricity produced by/from Fuel Cells (probably the Molten Carbonate type)
which will significantly improve the efficiency of fossil fuel Power
Stations. Some cells are already in use for small scale static power
stations.

Check out http://www.crest.org/articles/static...008081206.html for
lots of Info on Fuel Cells.

A car that will do 300 miles between an overnigh charge of 9-10 hours at
20 Amps is technically feaisble and hads been demonstrated. Got about
600bhp as well, and under 1.5 tons weight.

And?

Meanwhile they continue to develop even cleaner reciprocating engines.
The Hydrogen to run Fuel Cells can be produced using sunlight
eventually, to
split water, so then we will be using the energy current account and
not
even extra heat will be produced above that the sun provides.



I doubt that it can in any real quantity. The energy per unit area
falling on teh earh is probably best used to make e.g. biomass, which is
about teh most efficient process we have available.

I understand it would take a battery of solar cells the size of 25% of the
UK to power the whole world from sunlight, especially in a desert area with
high sunlight levels. Such electricity could be used directly in vehicles
with normal batteries or to produce Hydrogen from water to power fuel cells
( which are batteries too).


Much more efficient to burn the hydrogen in a reciprocating (or rotary)
engine than to convert it through a fuel cell to run an electric motor,
though electrically propelled vehicles do have the potential to convert
the slowing down process back into usable power.

Totally wrong, and ever heard of regenerative braking, had it on coaches for
years and there are other more recent developments in this area relating to
normal cars too.



However the real simple answer that dare not speak its name, is 'why the
**** do we need to go anywhere at all' and the answer is, mostly we
don't.

Lets face it most of what we do could be done in front of a console from
home, if we had to.

Unlike you I don't want to spend my life in a prison, even a very nice one.


And I suppose the goods we need will be delivered through the telephone
wires too? When I go shopping I visit a number of outlets. I can see
what I want to buy, and reject what had interested me from its
description. I generally share a car with a friend's family anyway,
doubling the efficiency of a trip. Well, since he has a family, more
than doubling it.

Sorry, your dream will never catch on.

That's not a dream it's a nightmare.

--
Regards
Bob

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