Reply To: The recent "discovery" of Dark Matter

[Rematog]

Just a thought about all this hype about hybrid cars.

1.) The batteries and electronics add a lot to to the cost. No all of us can afford Lexus/BMW class cars. My family has an older S-10 and a new Corolla. I couldn’t afford to buy a $40K hybrid. Are any selling for >$20k? I don’t see that happening soon.

2.) Batteries are very expensive. The Tesla electric sports car “the Tesla roadster is powered by a 1,000 pound bank of 6,831 (!) lithium ion laptop computer batteries” which gives it a range of 220 miles. At $2 per battery (I don’t know what they cost, but I’d expect this to be a low figure), the battery costs $13,600 alone, almost what I paid for my Corolla. I expect my Corolla to not require major engine work in a useful life of 10 years and about 150k miles. I would expect an “electric Corolla” to need at least half as big of battery ($6,800) and batteries don’t last forever. Consider an “electric Corolla” costing about 50% more then mine, can only go about 150 miles before stopping for a 3-4 hour re-charge (no long trips) and will

2.) Turbines. They are expensive to make and maintain. High temps= high cost alloys. High speeds (turbines, esp. small ones, operate at almost an order of magnatiude higher shaft rpms. If this high speed device fails, it is a bomb, pieces come out at increabable speeds. A car would require a balistic housing to protect operators or bystanders in case of turbine blade/bearing/shaft failures.

3.) Diesels are very well proved, and only slightly more expensive then gasoline engines. Bio-Diesel is less energy intensive to make. Currently, coal is burned for heat needed to distill ethonol, and that need for heat won’t change if cellulose is the feed stock.