kmcguffee 0 #51 November 30, 2002 QuoteMy intention was not to throw a flamer If you don't want to be flamed back then you should start with less inflammatory remarks. We can all have intelligent discussions when someone posts intelligently. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaaska 0 #52 November 30, 2002 Quote Quote My intention was not to throw a flamer If you don't want to be flamed back then you should start with less inflammatory remarks. We can all have intelligent discussions when someone posts intelligently. Let's call it a wake up call Sometimes it's just plane boring to start: "First of all a) blah blah blah...." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 3,107 #53 November 30, 2002 >The plan for a larger alternator (i.e. 42volts) is fine . . . It's not significantly larger. Lower current = less copper in the alternator, which is one of the reasons that 42 volts is cheaper. >There are isolation issues, and basic durability issues. Microchips >are, by design low voltage devices, easily cooked. Current semiconductor devices must withstand a load dump transient of 100 volts on a 14 volt bus; they are keeping that same spec on the 42 volt bus. That means you can use the same semiconductors on the higher voltage system. In addition, there is nothing inherent in semiconductor power switches that require them to be low voltage; FETs go to 200 volts and IGBTS go to 1200 volts with no problems. >Then don't forget the idiot factor (when I try to jump start >somebody's 14 volt car with my new 42 volt machine). Same issue exists today, with 24 volt truck systems vs 12 volt car systems. It hasn't kept people from using 12 volt systems. >Then there's the safety issue...what about grandpa and his > pacemaker? Doesn't a lower current and higher volts pose a risk . . 12 volt power has caused a lot of 3rd degree burns because the current required for a 12 volt system (50-100 amps, 400 amps peak) is more than enough to turn a ring or screwdriver red-hot. 42 volts was picked partly because it's the highest voltage you can deal with directly without getting a significant shock, and the lowered current requirements will help with the burn issue. >Anyway, what I really want to know is if they can make a car that >actually burns hydrogen . . . Why would we do that? We have no hydrogen. You can make it from natural gas, but if you're going to do that, it makes a lot more sense to just use the natural gas. We _do_ have that. >I really like the sound my car's engine makes as it revs crazy, while I > peel through the Ortega Highway to get to > Elsinore...gadgets...phooey... Someday people will say the same thing about IC engines, when they replace them with an electric motor with one moving part. "Remember when you had to change oil, filters and brake pads, and get your belts checked, and had to get smog checks? Phooey." The future will be interesting. Not much is certain about it beyond that, at some point, we'll run out of cheap oil. At that point we'll adapt, and gasoline powered cars will go the way of the steam locomotive and the horse drawn buggy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
