Future car fuel technology

bails87

Is a theory really capable of displaying contempt?

DonDaddyD

bails87 wrote:

Is a theory really capable of displaying contempt?

met·a·phor
   /ˈmɛtəˌfɔr, -fər/ Show Spelled[met-uh-fawr, -fer] Show IPA
–noun
1.
a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our god.” Compare mixed metaphor, simile ( def. 1 ) .

EKE_38BPM

If someone makes a plausible suggestion, I'll treat it seriously.

Maybe you would like us to go back to the days when our urine was collected by the government (in order to make gunpowder)? This is where the expression taking the p!ss comes from.
As JG said, there are useful chemicals in wee, but we can get those chemicals by other means. The energy density in wee is so low it would not be viable for use in transportation without Mr Fusion from BTTF3.

Just think about your suggestions for a second before posting and, hopefully, you will reject the stupid ones before subjecting us to them.

Sewinman

The methane produced from anaerobic digestion of our waste (sewage) is used for CHP plants all over the country. The water companies generate a lot of their electricity from our waste. So DDD's fantasy is already a reality.

I don't think they have got very far with straight pee yet though.

DonDaddyD

EKE_38BPM wrote:

'Chat' forum from light hearted discussion to serious stuff. A discussion about possible future fuel sources I don't see as being serious too the point that lighthearted comments are treated with elitist disgust. This is hardly a helmet debate.

I'm also sure there are many suggestions that were initially dismissed as stupid that have, down the line, become cornerstones of society.

Sewinman

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Sewinman wrote:

The methane produced from anaerobic digestion of our waste (sewage) is used for CHP plants all over the country. The water companies generate a lot of their electricity from our waste. So DDD's fantasy is already a reality.

I don't think they have got very far with straight pee yet though.

But how much wee would you need to digest (euww, horrible thought) in order to move a car 100 miles and how long would it take to extract this motive energy? Where would all of this wee come from?

I have no idea. I doubt methane could be practically used to power a car directly, so more likely the methane would be burnt to produce electricity and power a battery to drive the car. I am not sure of the quantity of waste required to power a car for 100 miles. To date it is mainly used to power the water pumping stations and associated machinery.

Either way, pee is a constituent of the sewage digested - so DDD's idea is to an extent a reality. From what I have read it is likely to remain a small scale activity due to high fixed costs. The German's are into it in a big way though.

The water companies do export power from this to the grid, so it may well have powered your TV at some point!

Edit - you seem to have deleted the post I replied to, not sure why.

rick_chasey

WGWarburton wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

ride_whenever wrote:

My favourite option for cars would be nuclear.

I was about to say, before I read this bit, that "this all sounds like the nuclear chat in the '50s and '60s" where you'd have nuclear powerd planes, tanks, etc.


It won't happen - nuclear stuff is too much of a hot potatoe to be given willy nilly to the general public.

Car garages would be, literally, lethal.

Store and transport, remember. You don't generate in the car, you generate at a power station, where you can control the risks (eg Fukushima- no serious injuries despite a massive earthquake and huge tsunami... compare to Deepwater Horizon, Piper-alpha, a Chinese Coal mine or the risks in building and operating windfarms on- or off-shore...).
The garage just contains a high-output power connection with smart metering and a sophisticated billing mechanism that lets you, visitors to your property and potentially passers by, in need of a top-up, use it and get charged directly. Similar outlets at secure car-parks (multi-stories, shopping centres, workplaces etc.) and top-up stations.

If battery technology and infrastructure provision continue to improve, electrics will be able to move from low-range city vehicles to more practical ones. They need light, high-capacity batteries that can be recharged quickly and widely-available high-output power outlets. You can trickle charge a battery pack overnight and fast charge when you stop, or mid-journey... but only if you have outlets capable of delivering high-current power and battery packs capable of very high charge rates. Currently under development... may or may not be commercially viable in a few years time. Place your bets!

Cheers,
W.

I just read this properly. You're basically suggesting electric cars, wheret power-plants are smaller, more numerous, and local.

Surely the economies of scale (or lack of) from any angle would make that totally impracticle? However small it is, I doubt anyone would want to leave near a petrol station sized nuclear power plant.

EKE_38BPM

I'm not really sure why I deleted it. It just seemed a bit pointless so I self-censored. A bit late though.

DDD is right, some ideas that were initially dismissed as stupid are now commonplace. I don't think any sober person has seriously thought about powering a car by p!ss though.

Right, I'm off to the shed to work on my prototype light sabre. Its a spin off from my holographic hard light drive.

DonDaddyD

All science fiction is rooted in some form of established science fact.

Science fact was once fiction at some point. If there is no plausible scientific application then its fantasy (which could become fiction and then be realised as fact). Now this caught on didn't it?




Spot the Iphone

Lightsaber is a beam of superheated plasma contained in a containment field. Now plasma torches already exist so give it 100 years who knows.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
— Arthur C. Clarke's Third Law

Fireblade96

I spent last week sailing with friends whose yacht has a great big solar panel and a sizeable wind generator.
These (along with the electricity generated by the engine when it's used in times of no wind) meant that they sailed all last summer without ever having to plug into mains power. Wind + solar recharge batteries that are used to power everything on board - instruments, lights, laptop, stereo,...

Now, if I can just adapt my landyacht sufficiently, I may have solved the problem of road transport !

bails87

DonDaddyD wrote:

bails87 wrote:

Is a theory really capable of displaying contempt?

met·a·phor
   /ˈmɛtəˌfɔr, -fər/ Show Spelled[met-uh-fawr, -fer] Show IPA
–noun
1.
a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our god.” Compare mixed metaphor, simile ( def. 1 ) .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism ?

artaxerxes

What we need is a new frontier to exploit, and with global warming maybe we can explore the untapped resources of Antarctica and Siberia!

If we can't do that, I think synthetic oil (from algae or bacterial decomosition of other organic matter) is currently looking like the best bet.

wgwarburton

Fireblade96 wrote:

I spent last week sailing with friends whose yacht has a great big solar panel and a sizeable wind generator.
These (along with the electricity generated by the engine when it's used in times of no wind) meant that they sailed all last summer without ever having to plug into mains power. Wind + solar recharge batteries that are used to power everything on board - instruments, lights, laptop, stereo,...

Now, if I can just adapt my landyacht sufficiently, I may have solved the problem of road transport !

"What gains in equality, activity, health, and freedom would result from limiting all other vehicles to the speed of bicycles and sailing ships" - Ivan Illich, Tools for Conviviality

Cheers,
W.

Fireblade96

WGWarburton wrote:

Fireblade96 wrote:

I spent last week sailing with friends whose yacht has a great big solar panel and a sizeable wind generator.
These (along with the electricity generated by the engine when it's used in times of no wind) meant that they sailed all last summer without ever having to plug into mains power. Wind + solar recharge batteries that are used to power everything on board - instruments, lights, laptop, stereo,...

Now, if I can just adapt my landyacht sufficiently, I may have solved the problem of road transport !

"What gains in equality, activity, health, and freedom would result from limiting all other vehicles to the speed of bicycles and sailing ships" - Ivan Illich, Tools for Conviviality

Cheers,
W.

There's a lot to be said for that approach !

EKE_38BPM

I like that a lot!