Amen; you don't get something for nothing. Wilton
----- Original Message ----- From: "Rich Thomas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Mercedes Discussion List" <mercedes@okiebenz.com> Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 2:23 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] Hydrogen cars > Hydrogen for much of anything for other than lab uses is not really > practical. It takes a lot of energy to make it, store it, transport it, > handle it, use it, etc etc. -- more that it will give up. So that means > really expensive, and mostly very inefficient. > > That energy has to come from somewhere, so it really is just another > form of energy created by some other means (I think the 2 main methods > are water electrolysis and reforming coal or natural gas in some > energy-intensive process). I suppose if you had a lot of base-load > nukes just churning out hydrogen that would be about the cleanest > method, but the whole handling aspect is still very difficult, and check > out the popularity of nukes even for direct power production. > > IF those pesky elements are dealt with, then hydrogen could be an > interesting mobile fuel source, but the simplicity and energy density of > fossil-based fuels (and the long-distance aspect of driving and relative > safety of even highly-volatile gasoline), and the 100 years of > development of IC engines, is a big hurdle to overcome. > > If you are interested in some fairly achievable methods of relatively > clean energy production, check out Solar Power Satellites. > > It all comes down to the numbers, they have a way of getting in the way > of great ideas, even when accommodating the various externalities involved. > > --R > > Not to say it could not be done > > Gary Hurst wrote: > > that's a shame. a hydrogen hybrid would be great to catch on about now. > > > > i'm sort of thinking the internal combustion engine is dead. just a > > question of how soon. > > > > On Mon, Sep 8, 2008 at 2:05 PM, John Robbins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > >> Gary Hurst wrote: > >> > >>> i'm wondering how far we are from hydrogen cell cars? > >>> > >> A LONG way away... The auto industry as a whole has admitted that was a > >> huge failure. All the R&D for *automotive* fuel cells has moved to > >> hybrids. Industry is still actively pursuing fuel cells for other > >> applications, but fuel cells in cars is basically not an option until > >> there is a major breakthrough. > >> > >> John > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________ > >> http://www.okiebenz.com > >> For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > >> For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> > >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > >> http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > >> > >> > > _______________________________________ > > http://www.okiebenz.com > > For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
