Re: Hybrid, Gas Electric cars.
C'mon Oz, you know what I'm getting at. Your car's interior might very well fill up with hydrogen, it's hard to contain and tougher to detect. Think, piping--rough roads--metal fatigue--substandard materials--assembly outsourced to China--untrained repairman--improper substitution of gasket materials--cross-threaded fitting...it can go on and on. Leaking gasoline can be seen and smelled; not hydrogen. This kind of stuff belongs with NASA, not Mr. Goodwrench.<br /><br />True the Hindenberg was a big floppy gas bag operating at one atmosphere pressure. Lots of exposure to an errant source of combustion. <br /><br />In a fuel cell application the hydrogen will be compressed to several atmospheres pressure to save space. But the compressed gas is that much harder to contain and more forceful to fill a volume on escape. <br /><br />And don't forget, compressed oxygen will be nearby as well. It's much easier to contain but once a hydrogen-air blaze starts, how long will the oxygen containment keep its integrity? A collision, a rupture (or maybe a tiny leak at first), a spark ... it'll be spectacular.<br /><br />It will be cleaner though; and clean is what we want, right? No need to call the ambulance after a collision or monkey with jaws-of-life or employ para-medics. Heck no, just sweep up the ashes, pry the metal slag off the pavement and get traffic moving again. Should cut ER traffic in half.<br /><br />Seriously, I see the molecular hydrogen and oxygen needed for fuel in the fuel cell as an energy storage medium. At a fuel processing plant electrical power is used to break the bond between hydrogen and oxygen in water and liberate the two gases. Thus electrical energy is, in effect, stored in these elements by raising them to a higher energy level. They can now recombine in a controlled manner in the fuel cell and use this stored energy to generate electricity or they can recombine rapidly in combustion or an explosion generating heat and light. <br /><br />The electrical part sounds kind of like a storage battery doesn't it. But what's the fuel cell advantage? The energy/weight ratio is much better for one. Conversion efficiency is better too I believe, but I could be wrong on that. You've still got an electric motor to drive. But you put a lot of people in harms way to reap these benefits. And you still have to come up with the energy to separate the hydrogen and oxygen at the fuel processing plant.<br /><br />If we put these things on the road, we owe the terrorist car bombers an apology.<br /><br />I've said more than enough on this. No offense meant. Good night gentlemen.
<br />__________________________________________________<br /><br />Now thats enough to turn me off right there. So when you go to trade the car off, do they say, "Well, you have only about 1 year left on your battery, so we will knock about $5,000.00 off the price of the car"?? Plus the disposal fee. of how much???<br /><br />You sure saved a bunch of gas though, and the impact on the earth, Zero, nada, squat.<br />---------------------------<br />
