Are electric cars the future?

[st4]

Remember that the mass will be in the floor and wheel wells so in the event of a collision with a pedestrian the crash protection can be much better than having a half ton block of iron hanging over the front wheels!

Should handle well too...

Low CofV....

 

[Alfie]

No, thats not the way to do it. Plug your car in at night so you have a full 'tank' every morning and never worry about a filling station. As DM says, 300 miles should be enough for most people. People are happy to charge their phones up overnight. They will get used to charging their cars up.

What happens if you forget? you cant 'limp' to the nearest charging station and fill up. You have to wait hours.

the mobile phone analogy isnt really that relevant because mobile phones tend to last longer than a day and if they are not charged you can still go to work in your car and charge it there. Plus you can plug it in to a charger and use it whilst charging. You cant do that with the car!

Until the refuelling issues are resolved then EV's wont fully catch on.

 

[Bellow]

How far away are they? Well there's this little lot to be discussed, here >> 5th EV Battery Tech: Global Cost Reduction Initiative - Agenda

More ground to cover than an EV is currently capable of.

 

[Bellow]

Plus you can plug it in to a charger and use it whilst charging. You cant do that with the car!

Oh, there's bound to be an app for charging a car from an iPhone soon!

 

[Shude]

Extended-range EVs cover most of these problems.

Fit a battery that will do ~100 miles and also a small generator. Plug-in to recharge and if you start to run low while driving the generator kicks in and tops it up.

 

[MOCAŠ]

What happens if you forget? you cant 'limp' to the nearest charging station and fill up. You have to wait hours.

the mobile phone analogy isnt really that relevant because mobile phones tend to last longer than a day and if they are not charged you can still go to work in your car and charge it there. Plus you can plug it in to a charger and use it whilst charging. You cant do that with the car!

Until the refuelling issues are resolved then EV's wont fully catch on.

There's something on YouTube about automated battery exchange stations - like a filling station, where you drive in, park in a service bay, and a robot extracts (some of?) the car's batteries and exchanges them for fully-charged ones. The idea is to make it viable to make long journeys without having to stop to recharge. Not sure how close the idea is to fruition, though.

 

[Bellow]

Extended-range EVs cover most of these problems.

Fit a battery that will do ~100 miles and also a small generator. Plug-in to recharge and if you start to run low while driving the generator kicks in and tops it up.

Which then raises the 'how much battery is needed?' question, and when the answer is 'not very much' - well, that's what we currently drive!

 

[grober]

IN REALITY - name me anywhere in the UK NOW/ TODAY ---- not next year--- not with a years waiting list / delivery where you can walk into a car showroom and say -- I'll have that one please! The electric smart has been out for YEARS!!!! anyone been able to purchase and run one in the UK??? The "elephant in the room" is the taxation issue. I am firmly convinced that true "plug in" [ non hybrid] electric cars will simply not be readily available in the UK in economically viable numbers to bring the price down till that issue is resolved.

 

[Shude]

Which then raises the 'how much battery is needed?' question, and when the answer is 'not very much' - well, that's what we currently drive!

Well it's not is it? Fundamental difference here is that electric motors are much more efficient for use in transport and the internal (or external - don't discount the steam engine!) combustion engine is better used as a generator as steady RPM.

As long as a battery powered motor is turning the wheels you're going in the right direction

 

[Bellow]

electric motors are much more efficient

The motor may be - but the battery certainly isn't. Not to mention that 80kg is considered 'lightweight' for the control gear!

Dispense with, or minimise the battery and run an IC engine at (near) constant speed (for efficiency) driving a generator delivering directly to motor(s) with limited battery back-up when required will, I think, be the solution untll such times as the next big thing technologically arrives. But the risk here is we are re-inventing the Diesel-electric locomotive, and if that was ever a solution for motor cars, why hasn't it been adopted already? The cost of copper and the overlooked fact that electrical machines when running serious current generate heat which is energy wasted?

 

[AlanD]

Petrol is quite difficult to ignite. The vapour, yes but a tank of liquid petrol, no. How many collisions result in fire? Not that many, some sure but almost certainly ignited by external sources, such as sparking electrics!

A massive charge held in a battery pack is just waiting to escape..

LOL .. all of them result in a massive explosion the instant they're hit according to Hollywood! ;o)

Batteries are a fire hazard. Anyone watch F1? Check out the battery packs they recover energy to ... one seems to catch fire every 2nd or 3rd race! Hot sun, freezing temperatures .. not ideal for batteries. Mega fast charging means super dangerous high-voltage "fuel" stations. Learn to keep your hands down at your sides to avoid point-effect vapourisation of yourself and your children

All fuel sources are dangerous. They're, by nature, a store of concentrated energy. How you release that energy is the important bit!

Right now, all battery cars are glorified milk-carts. There are some quick ones, but check out Top Gear's review for an indication of how handling in affected by massive, awkwardly placed batteries. I guess if you're American and only concerned with rapid progress in straight lines ...

Electric may be the future. Batteries as we know them are not. As we need denser sources of energy for our hover-bikes, etc. I can't see battery tech keeping up. Fuel cells perhaps. :bannana:

 

[Shude]

... the overlooked fact that electrical machines when running serious current generate heat which is energy wasted?

You'll need something to keep the occupants warm

 

[AlanD]

Should handle well too...

Low CofV....

Alas no, the batteries can rarely be as well positioned as you might imagine. All sorts of things to get in the way! The lack of distribution, with or without a low CoG to go with it and lead to very peculiar handling!

 

[Shude]

Alas no, the batteries can rarely be as well positioned as you might imagine. All sorts of things to get in the way! The lack of distribution, with or without a low CoG to go with it and lead to very peculiar handling!

There's not much to get in the way! No drive shaft, exhaust system, gearbox. If the motors are in the hubs you can put stuff wherever you want - the traditional layout of a car can be thrown away with an EV.

 

[Fuji]

No, thats not the way to do it. Plug your car in at night so you have a full 'tank' every morning and never worry about a filling station. As DM says, 300 miles should be enough for most people. People are happy to charge their phones up overnight. They will get used to charging their cars up.

I live in a flat. How do I plug my car in overnight?

 

[artyman]

I live in a flat. How do I plug my car in overnight?

A long lead from your window, and massive insurance cover for pedestrians who trip over it and utilise Claims R Us

 

[Fuji]

Remember that the mass will be in the floor and wheel wells so in the event of a collision with a pedestrian the crash protection can be much better than having a half ton block of iron hanging over the front wheels!

Quarter-ton

And mass is mass. The pedestrian wont care if the mass is evenly distributed or if it's all at the front... or the mid... or the back. The entire kinetic energy of the impact will be focused on a relatively small area.

 

[Peter T]

There's not much to get in the way! No drive shaft, exhaust system, gearbox. If the motors are in the hubs you can put stuff wherever you want - the traditional layout of a car can be thrown away with an EV.

Motors in the hubs?? What about the unsprung weight.

I shudder to think what that would do for the handling.

 

[Shude]

And mass is mass. The pedestrian wont care if the mass is evenly distributed or if it's all at the front... or the mid... or the back. The entire kinetic energy of the impact will be focused on a relatively small area.

True but you could make the entire front and back of the car out of sponge which is much more pleasant than the warm embrace of an engine block.

As for charging it could be done anywhere, work, supermarket you name it. Put a pound in the meter and when you're done shopping or whatever you have another quarter fill. Why worry about charging at home when you can charge at the destination? With inductive charging you don't even need to plug anything in, just park up and go!

 

[Shude]

Motors in the hubs?? What about the unsprung weight.

I shudder to think what that would do for the handling.

Ok then motors in the axles. At least one electric supercar (lightning?) has motors in the hubs. I think unsprung weight is a myth anyway.