saw the post about the propane c4, reminded me of this page I came across a few weeks ago:

click me!

 

Thats great to have a new means of workable energy, But i heard some horrer storys about people getting fried up pretty good from working on these new fuel cells. YIPES!!!!!!

 

Wow. Very cool. I would still like to know how long it takes to fill up the tanks in the vette and the cost to make the Hydrogen. Can you make as much power with hydrogen as you can with Gas?

 

I go to school where they do a lot of hydrogen research, so as I find out more I'll let you know. As of right now, hydrogen is not exactly a fuel source, but as a battery type energy source. It takes far more energy to create the hydrogen gas out of water than it will give off. From there the car would have to run off of electicity, so the power issue may be different. I don't think it would be very feasible to have a hydrogen station in your garage, not yet anyway.

As for the horror stories, such as the Hindenberg, they found that it wasn't the hydrogen that caused the explosion, but the skin which was basically rocket fuel. My professor gave us a comparison. He asked how many people have spilled gas while filling up their car, everyone raised their hands. From there he said that with the hydrogen, it is far less dangerous to refuel, since there is no possibility of leakage with setup. As for people being fried from the fuel cells, that might be attributed to the fact that it's electicity their working with.

 

Hydrogen meets reality:
www.motortrend.com
Hydrogen is not in reality a for a replacement for gasoline.
Your talking about fuel tanks with a 55,000 psi load.

The alternatives are already here, the Prius, and diesel, and battery power. The magazine says one source has stated that the internal combustion engine (gasoline) will be dead in 10 years.

Also stated is that oil production will peak in 5 years. Its not going to be a pretty future.

Batteries, diesel, and hybreds, thats the future and its already here. Hydrogen is as its always been a pipe dream along with cold fuision.

 

The guy who invented the ni cad battery has made a solid hydogen fuel cell that can be used as a absorberfor bumpers.Dalamer Chrysler has built a car that is wild.powered by hydogen and has suspention that leans into the corners.

 

Not to contradict, but you already said oil is on the way out. The prius is a hybrid gasoline car, so as oil production runs out, so will that engine. Also, I sincerely doubt that the world will be able to supply enough bio-diesel to run all of our cars. Plus, diesel engines put out a higher number of particulates than a gasoline engine, including bio-diesel. This would lead to a dramatic increase in the greenhouse gases. The 3rd alternative you gave is battery power, which would have us either rely on recharging with an outlet or another source. Hydrogen is in itself a "battery" type energy source. The fact that there already are hydrogen powered cars shows that the tank isn't really a problem. A battery cannot store as much energy as hydrogen gas can supply.

Now, say you want to drive cross country, what happens when you battery dies? You have to stop and recharge. With hydrogen, you fill up the tank.

The hydrogen fuel cell technology is on the move. It seems like you've given up on them already. I've never seen a cold fusion reaction, but I have seen a hydrogen fuel cell being used. There's plenty of things people have said can't be done, but look at what we're doing today.

To say that hydrogen isn't a solution cause me to bring out the guy. It's already being done, every major motor company is invested in the research. If you want to read more about it:


http://www.humboldt.edu/~serc/

Hopefully we can all open our minds a little more to our options. A little bit of faith can go a long way.

 

Its not what I said its what National Geo and Motortrend says.
To think this out a little futher, hydrogen powered airliners?
Class 8 tractor/trailers?
Read the article www.motortrend.com if for no other reason than to add to your knowledge about the future.

Something has to be done thats a given.
There isn't any real chances coming in the next 5-10 years and TDI diesel is a big seller in Eroupe.

TDI gasoline is already in the works.
The future is already here.

Electric cars will have a 300 mile range before recharge.
Cold fusion was a hoax it was the answer to extracting hydrogen with out heat as a by product. It was supposed to be the holy grail in hydrogen production.

The idea of hydrogen driven cars has been around for 50 years.
If hyrogen cars were a fact what impact on the enviorment would they have? Another unknown.

Hydrogen would be great on the face of it but it doesn't exsist.
Good luck with your education and your car.
Take care the future is yours.

 

this would be a great OT thread.....

 

Um, with all due respect, is that what the editors said or did they actually consult experts in the field? When it comes to matters such as this, I'll believe engineers over editors and journalists, any day.

 

I don't think you can say hydrogen doesn't exist... http://www.humboldt.edu/~serc/vehiclefactsheet.html that's a link to a page about hydrogen vehicles currently in use. Hydrogen can be created using natural energy, like solar/wind power. The only byproduct of using a hydrogen fuel cell is water vapor, which is a far cry better than what currently comes out of our tailpipes.

Remember what the NY Times said about hemp a long time ago? Saying it made people crazy, why? Because the owner held stock in lumber companies that were being threatened by the hemp industry as a cheap replacement for paper products. I can only go with what I have seen, there are sceptics everywhere. How long does it take to recharge for those 300 miles? All the motortrend site proved is that the technology is advancing.

Either way, I don't agree with what you said motortrend and national geo said. Just by searching the motortrend site I've seen that GM, Nissan, and others HAVE hydrogen cars. They may just be concept cars now, but they'll be here.