[Tfug] OT: Battery Powered Transportation: Converting Thermal to Electrical Energy

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Charles,

--- On Wed, 8/5/09, Charles R. Kiss <charles at kissbrothers.com> wrote:

> I'm a little bored and a little
> confused: can someone else who is bored take a look at this
> and provide insight or even commentary:
> 
> Why are battery-powered vehicles even an issue??
> 
> http://charlesblog.kissbrothers.com/uploads/papers/Transportation.Energy.Demand.pdf
> 
> Thanks Tucson!!

Energy density of hydrocarbons is *incredible*.  That's what has
made the internal combustion engine so successful even at its
inception (when it was much less efficient).

I think the fallacy in the "article" you cite is the premise
that *all* transportation energy needs will be replaced with
electricity.  I can;t imagine ever completely replacing
hydrocarbons as a fuel source.  I think the goal is to change
the *trend* in energy consumption as well as consumer awareness.

I suspect there are also some "minor issues" that the analysis
doesn't address (e.g., regenerative braking is feasible when energy
is stored as electrical charge; not as feasible when it is stored
as a hydrocarbon or, alternatively, *kinetically*).

The big appeal (zero-th order analysis) of electric vehicles is you 
already have infrastructure in place to move the electricity to
where it may be needed *dynamically*.  I.e., if you need a few hundred
MW in Los Angeles "by 5PM", you can get it there from New England
(surplus capacity at that time) "in a heartbeat".  The same is not
true of fossil fuels.

Also, nuclear power plants are well suited to "static loads"
(avoiding any discussion re: safety issues, spent fuel, etc.)
and transportation would be just such a load (i.e., people
drive the same number of miles regardless of weather; OTOH,
people use more/less energy in HVAC based on that same
weather!)