Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Technology => Topic started by: Pumblechook on 09/12/2007 18:00:07

Title: Electric vehicles.
Post by: Pumblechook on 09/12/2007 18:00:07

Impractical with the technology we have today?

Title: Electric vehicles.
Post by: lyner on 09/12/2007 18:06:17

Presumable you are not referring to trains and trams?

Title: Electric vehicles.
Post by: Pumblechook on 09/12/2007 18:08:04

Only vehicles which have to store or produce their own electricity. 

Title: Electric vehicles.
Post by: another_someone on 09/12/2007 19:00:20

Quote from: Pumblechook on 09/12/2007 18:00:07

Impractical with the technology we have today?

Impractical for what?

If you are doing a journey of 10 to 20 miles a day, then we already have some vehicles that do that (more two wheeled vehicles than 4 wheeled vehicles, although we have both).  If you are looking to travel 200+ miles a day, then we are not there yet.

In fact, we have had electric milk floats (5mph max, local journeys only) since I was a child, over 40 years ago, and I don't know how much before that, and they are still around today).

Title: Electric vehicles.
Post by: techmind on 09/12/2007 20:38:06

But with electric vehicles you still have to charge them up, and (unless you really believe 100% renewable energy is a reality any time soon) you've simply moved the pollution elsewhere - not eliminated it. Sure, car engines aren't that efficient... but neither is electricity generation in thermal power stations.
One good advantage of electric cars for about-town (stop-start) journeys is that you can use regenerative braking to reclaim the kinetic energy when you have to brake, rather than merely dumping it as heat in the brake-pads/discs. (In normal braking of a typical car from 30mph to rest, you dissipate enough energy to boil a mug of water from each wheel.)