Its only as important as they make people believe.
Oil should already be a dead issue.
That little Tesla Roadster is sweeeet. Now, if Tesla Motors can build me a rugged four-wheel drive electric vehicle with solar charging panels on the roof, featuring off-road handling and load bearing capability comparable to my Land Rover, I will never buy another drop of gasoline again.
Problem is, it’s not just about cars.
Every gasoline and diesel-powered automobile in America could vanish tomorrow in a purple cloud of pixie dust, replaced by a shiny new electric vehicle, and the United States would STILL be dependent on oil.
Why? Two words: wheat and beef.
[/quote]
Very cool article. I think some of his numbers are off but it is a good dose of reality.
Its only as important as they make people believe.
640hp Electric MINI COOPER (all-wheel drive to boot)
0-60mph in 4.5 seconds
…
Did you read those links? The electric Mini does not exist. They are looking for investors so they can build one.
The compressed air car is a death trap because it weighs almost nothing and has no structural integrity.
There is no magic solution. We need oil.
Edit: They built some sort of prototype but have not operated it yet in a meaningful manner. All the stats listed are “predicted” or “designed to”, not real operational data.
It is all fictitious marketing bullshit so they can find sucker investors. I suggest you send them a check right away. [/quote]
“The Lightning GT, however, boasts up to 700 hp. Three models are expected to be offered including a luxury version, a lightweight sports version that can reach 60 mph in less than four seconds and an extended range model that can go the distance, as long as that’s within 250 miles.”
It also uses NanoSafe batteries – a full charge in 10 minutes @250 mile range.
Its only as important as they make people believe.
Oil should already be a dead issue.
That little Tesla Roadster is sweeeet. Now, if Tesla Motors can build me a rugged four-wheel drive electric vehicle with solar charging panels on the roof, featuring off-road handling and load bearing capability comparable to my Land Rover, I will never buy another drop of gasoline again.[/quote]
Actually a 4WD off-road application would possibly be be ideal for an electric. A sealed independent motor at each wheel and the constant deceleration would probably charge the battery indefinitely. PLUS no drive train components to get hung up on – no driveshaft, diff., etc. Just a smooth bottom 4 wheeler.
[quote]Problem is, it’s not just about cars.
Every gasoline and diesel-powered automobile in America could vanish tomorrow in a purple cloud of pixie dust, replaced by a shiny new electric vehicle, and the United States would STILL be dependent on oil.
Why? Two words: wheat and beef.
[/quote]
The beef issue could even be a mute point in the near future…
Actually a 4WD off-road application would possibly be be ideal for an electric. A sealed independent motor at each wheel and the constant deceleration would probably charge the battery indefinitely. PLUS no drive train components to get hung up on – no driveshaft, diff., etc. Just a smooth bottom 4 wheeler.
[/quote]
That’s a good idea, but it logistically wouldn’t work because the car would not steer straight without synchronization between the wheels. Maybe a computer chip could synchronize the wheels without a physical linkage?
Actually a 4WD off-road application would possibly be be ideal for an electric. A sealed independent motor at each wheel and the constant deceleration would probably charge the battery indefinitely. PLUS no drive train components to get hung up on – no driveshaft, diff., etc. Just a smooth bottom 4 wheeler.
That’s a good idea, but it logistically wouldn’t work because the car would not steer straight without synchronization between the wheels. Maybe a computer chip could synchronize the wheels without a physical linkage?
[/quote]
Computer chips need oil derivatives for their creation.
[quote]lixy wrote:
kroby wrote:
Computer chips need oil derivatives for their creation.
I’m not sure what you have in mind when you say that. A chip per se does not require a single drop of oil derivatives.[/quote]
When you coat said silicon chip, you coat it in laminating solvents derived from oil. Photoresist is a chemical compound vital to chip production. As you build layer upon layer, you build a computer chip (CPU). That is about the extent of my understanding of lithography. It may be flawed.
But I do know that the wastes made by this process are high in BTU’s, and that it is through fractionation via distillation that these solvents are refined and blended. Crude oil is the basest building block for most chemicals produced today.
Wow. That got me excited. I’m going to go play with some chemicals now.
[quote]kroby wrote:
When you coat said silicon chip, you coat it in laminating solvents derived from oil. Photoresist is a chemical compound vital to chip production. [/quote]
Nice catch Krob. Most solvents are indeed oil derivatives, but I don’t know which ones are involved in chip manufacturing. Something tells me it’s more elaborate than acetone. I have to admit that I never gave much thought to the polymeric nature of photoresists.
That said, you can use inorganic polymers. The question is then if the latter require oil or not. Anyone?
Ten points to the person that can tell me where that term originates.[/quote]
Dune.
[Edit:] Shit! I see that Orion beat me to it. I was lo looking forward to those ten points.
Dune was never more appropriate than it is now.
Let’s see: we have a substance that is found in a hostile arid land, which is vital for transportation, quality of life, and indeed our very survival. Mining this substance is controlled by the Empire, but even the emperor himself is a puppet of the huge and powerful guild that depends most upon it.
However, there is trouble brewing. The natives of this arid, god-forsaken land are rallying behind a new leader, who is disrupting mining operations, and threatens to destroy this substance completely.
Sound familiar?
I think it’s no coincidence that Herbert chose to model the Fremen language on Arabic, and their religion on Sufi Islam.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
I think it’s no coincidence that Herbert chose to model the Fremen language on Arabic, and their religion on Sufi Islam.[/quote]
Or that both Harkonnen and Halliburton start with an “H”.