Date:         Sat, 14 Sep 2002 09:06:50 -0700
Reply-To:     DaveC <voicebox@DNAI.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         DaveC <voicebox@DNAI.COM>
Subject:      Re: Alternate fuels
In-Reply-To:  <Pine.SUN.3.96.1020914112348.16046F-100000@grex.cyberspace.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed"

>On Sat, 14 Sep 2002, Tromper wrote:
>
>>  Natural Gas and/or Methane are ones I had not considered though
>>  I am aware of the existence of the former (bad cruise range et al)
>
>Hydrogen has exactly the same problems as natural gas when it comes to
>storage and cruise range.  Neither can be liquified, so you're stuck
>storing them at very high pressures.  This also means you use up a lot of
>energy compressing the hydrogen after you creat it.

And burnable gasses (and fuel cells) are only energy "mediums". You
still use energy creating these fuels. In the case of hydrogen, you
must create this from crude oil or water which takes lots of
electrical energy, which comes from... oil, usually.

Until we find a truly independent source of energy (ie when solar
cells become much more efficient than they are today and can propel a
car without batteries -- batteries could be used for nighttime
driving), we will be dependent on oil or whatever energy source is
used to create these fuels.

(Please, no "solar and batteries can't do this..." replies; I know
this. We're stuck with hydrocarbon fuels until *independent* electric
sources are discovered or developed.)

Dave

(PS, I thought H2 could be liquefied. Why not? Just enough pressure,
and voila! No?)
--
Dave Carpenter

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from
magic." -- Arthur C. Clarke