Reply To: Boron availability

[AaronB]

Brian H wrote: Yoiks! A small fuel spill of chemically pure ammonia would make the air unbreathable for a 100-yd diameter. A big one would clear city blocks! Mass anosmia would be the probable result. 😉 I prefer the 10X higher energy density batteries that nano-electrode and other near-term technologies promise. Electrons don’t stink!

While olfactory irritation is no laughing matter, and definitely nothing to sneeze at, I would point your attention to this study.

If scientists and engineers can come up with batteries with the energy density and weight of liquid fuels, I’d be willing to go that route. I’m also concerned that if every car was to be converted/manufactured to use battery power, there wouldn’t be enough battery-making material in the world to do the job. The price of batteries would be astronomical for those who could get them. It’s fine if only a small percentage of vehicles are battery powered, but I don’t know how well it will scale up.

One option for Focus Fusion generators would be to run at constant output, exceeding the maximum daily electrical demands for an area, and any excess power could be converted to NH3. At night when demand was low, a lot of NH3 would be produced and stored for filling up gas tanks the following day. That way, one or more FF power plants could provide all the electricity and fuel for a town or neighborhood.

Hmmm, if Wal-Mart bought licenses and installed FF power plants at all of their locations, they could become the nation’s largest electrical utility and fuel producer. That would be interesting.