Larf:
At least I judge your ignorance based on your actions.. :)
Question posed: What does an ignorant lil grrl like me know about the big bad world of electricity? Let's study this.
First and foremost, let's start off with what I know of petroleum products. My father was a research chemist with Union Carbide, where they experimented with... Petroleum and Petroleum byproducts! He taught me at a young age just how NOT to handle all kinds of fun things, like styrofoam and gasoline when mixed (HIDEOUS chemical burn, in case you were wondering)
So here's what I know about electricity: I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania, where there was this funny invention called a dam. That dam had a HUGE pipe attached to it. That huge pipe carried the water from the dam when they opened it, and concentrated that released water through a series of turbines, which, when turned, generated... ELECTRICITY. It's amazing, I know. That town even provides the surrounding areas and New York City with the surplus electricity that it doesn't need.
Sooo... I know that generating electricity is probably the best way to go, at least when generated with the power of falling water through a set of turbines. The only cost involved in that form of electrical creation is what it took to open the floodgates at the Wallenpaupack Dam.
To apply that electricity to cars, plug some batteries into the generators and charge em up, stick em back in the electrical car, and you're on your way. Not the fastest form of travel, but it's clean.
Apply this to electric trains, and you've got a very clean form of transit.
As to Hydrogen studies.. My father knew about those before they were printed in your skippy magazines. There's a LOT the government is "experimenting" with that they don't release to the general public until roughly 30 years later, when it's already old news. The main reason Dad got out of the chemical field was due to ethics. He had this crazy idea that people should know the truth.
Hydrogen is an exceedingly dangerous element to work with, since it can be fatal to play with, and its explosive nature. The trouble with hydrogen engines is how to harness it 100% safely, and have it be equally safe through an auto accident when the containment chamber might be punctured. You know what compressed gas does when its container gets punctured? The force alone can easily push someone through a cinderblock wall, not to mention the schrapnel from the metal tanks can travel at a bullet's velocity and with 10 times the damage. It's like buckshot, but bigger and in all directions. VERY messy.
When I worked at Merck Pharmaceuticals, I was trained in manufacturing plant safety, and one of the most important things was to keep the compressed gas tanks out of the sunlight, since something as simple as a hot day could blow up the entire site. It's all part of the 100% safety factor. Not many people realize that those fun helium tanks at the store that they use to fill balloons have the potential to obliterate everyone in the surrounding area of the store just from a simple scrape on the side of the tank. You think the delivery guy thinks about it when he drags the cannisters along the metal lips on a truck bed? Not at $5.25/hr he doesn't.
Compressed gas safety 101.
As to the "fossil fuel" electrical generation processes, I've only seen ONE, countem, ONE coal burning plant in the state of Pennsylvania. I've been over most of the state, I've seen a nuclear plant, but just the one coal burning one. Last I heard they were trying to shut that one down, since its efficiency is nill compared to the alternatives.
My whole point is that there are other ways. Better ways.
NEVER assume I'm ignorant. Sometimes I'm just lazy and don't feel like typing ALL of my credentials every time I post. And honestly, Larf, I'm seriously getting tired of your pot calling my kettle black. Your posts are like the static on a good radio station.
(Just for you, Larf, AGAIN)
Masters of Science Instructional Design and Interactive Technology
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