Charlie Young wrote in a message to Alec Cameron:
 MR> Gas/electric stations could store energy by trickle charging large
 MR> underground flywheels. Then quickly charge a customer's car without
 MR> any heavy drain to the grid. Thus no need to upgrade the electric grid.
> Wrong. There is a need, notably at the generating stations 'cos 
> if you consume increased energy at the load centres, then you 
> gotta burn more coal/gas/ oil whatever in the generating 
> stations.
 CY> ALEC
 CY> I wonder what the total efficiency would be for an electric car 
 CY> vs. the traditional gasoline powered car?
 CY> You would have to calculate the energy used digging up the 
 CY> coal, transporting it to the power station, transporting it 
 CY> around the coal yard, and crushing it.  Then there are blowers 
 CY> and other energy hungry devices.  Also you would need to add in 
 CY> the losses in the transmission grid.  That is not to say that 
 CY> gasoline is the perfect energy source, but maybe not as bad
 CY> as some would have us to believe.
Speaking of electric vehicles,  I've been spending some time lately at a 
distribution facility which uses a *LOT* of electric vehicles -- including 
all of their forklifts,  pallet jacks,  etc. and they've got a whole room 
there which does nothing but deal with the batteries for these things.
I was astounded to read the nameplate on one of the pallet jacks and see that 
the darn thing weighed _8000 pounds_!  That,  coupled with a battery that ran 
it all day long,  and didn't show much depletion on the "gauge" on the unit 
got me to wondering what the problem is with electric vehicles,  anyway...
I don't know how much life they get out of a battery,  but the smaller of the 
ones they use (for the pallet jacks) weighs in at somewhere around 1200 
pounds.  This equipment pretty much is in constant operation,  and is run 
during three shifts there.  Maybe one of these days I'll get a chance to talk 
to "the battery guy",  and see what the deal is.
I know that electric cars would need more speed capability,  and that range 
seems to be most often the quoted "problem" with them.  Anybody else care to 
comment on this stuff?
email: roy.j.tellason%tanstaaf@frackit.com 
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