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

[Charles R. Kiss]

Don,

I think you're right about the 365; looks like I'll have to rework the  
article... but I won't be so freindly this time -no more "super-nuclear  
plants", and no more 10% !!!  HOw's that???

Looks like I was using a yearly BTU value and comparing it to daily  
nuclear power plant output ! Good call.

I knew something was wrong but couldn't find it.  THANKS!



Here's a link for US nuclear plants production:  
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/reactors/diablo.html

Charles





On Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:44:04 -0400, Bexley Hall <bexley401 at yahoo.com>  
wrote:

> Hi Charles,
>
> OK, with a few spare minutes, I went through your math...
>
> You claim One SuperNuclear plant = 1×10^4MW (I'll take your
> word on that -- ?).  You then assume it produces for 20Hrs/day
> (I'll also take your word that it is unable to run 24/7).
>
> From this, you derive:
> Electric Capacity of One SuperNuclear plant = 2×10^5 MWHr
>
> But, that's just one day's production!  In a year, you're
> looking at ~ 350 times that amount or 7x10^7 MWHr.  This brings
> your Minimum Number of SuperNuclear Plants Needed figure
> down to ~15 (I'm not using a calculator here so forgive my
> coarse approximations) from the 5,000 you initially figured.
>
> Note that the total energy production from nuclear plants in
> 2007 was listed as ~8 quadrillion BTU.  So, the total transportation
> energy requirements are approximately 4 times more than our
> current total nuclear output (29/8).  Figure out how many nuclear
> plants are currently operating in the country and you've got
> a back-of-the-napkin approximation to what you would need to
> handle *all* our transportation needs... (SWAG)
>
> (Have *I* missed something here?  Always nervous when I do these
> things in my head -- it LEAKS!  :> )
>
> Note that I still stand by my comments re: mindset.  You have to
> change the dynamics of the problem if you are going to "solve" it.
>
> Invest in a good pair of WALKING SHOES!!  ;-)
> --don
>
>
>



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