Up until 100 years ago, electric cars were more popular than internal-combustion engine powered cars and were poised to become the standard method of transportation. Most used NiFe or NiCd batteries.
And how did they control the power output smooth enough without losing too much power in the switch while driving (therefore potentially heating it up and burning, next to the loss of energy)?
This drivetrain was the brainchild of George Westinghouse. The engine powers the generator, which creates a large magnetic force field be-tween the engine and drivewheels. There's no mechanical transmission. The driver moves a rheostat through four quadrants — a lot easier than shifting, and grinding, the straight-cut gears of the day — and the car moves ahead progressively, giving occupants that odd feeling you get when you try to push similar-pole magnets against each other. Both Enrico Caruso and John McCormack drove Owen Magnetics.
Owens were expensive and really sophisticated. They had an advanced, 24-volt electrical system when most cars had only 6 volts. And Owen Magnetics had a black box called "the brain." There's a big warning label right on it that reads, "Do not attempt to fix this or alter it. Only the factory can do this."
... Why would you add a whole bunch of unnecessary, expensive infrastructure instead of just recording odometer readings at registration renewal time? Many jurisdictions already ask for that information for various reasons, including just simply for statistical analysis. It seems more logical to simply do that and then have a tax bill based on that, hopefully with the ability to pay monthly or something instead of one huge lump sum with the sticker shock that would make some people unable to afford to drive.
The solution to every problem is not necessarily more electronics and the bureaucracy to support and enforce.
Until gasoline powered cars proved to have more range and where easier to use despite the foul smell and noise.
Today, as the range is a 95% solved issue, the cost advantage is on a factor 3 on the side of the electric, so it will take 5-10 years for electrics to mainly replace gas.
Today, as the range is a 95% solved issue, the cost advantage is on a factor 3 on the side of the electric, so it will take 5-10 years for electrics to mainly replace gas.That is a nice dream but it ain't gonna happen that quick and it might not even happen at all.
1) For many people a car is a big ticket item so they buy one which fits all their needs. This means that the car they buy also needs to be fit for usage on 0.1% of the trips they make. Range is what kills an electric car here. Local constraints like taxation on ownership and limited parking space drive the need to buy a car which fits all usages.
All in all I don't see myself buying an electric car in the next 20 years (basically 3 to 4 cars from my current car).
Convenience is everything to most people. You simply can't beat topping up a tank with 500km+ range in a couple of minutes at a petrol station every couple of square km.
Imagine what would be needed if say 80% of the population switched to electric cars overnight, you wouldn't be able to find a spare charging port anywhere.
And even if they replaced every current petrol pump with an electric charger (ignoring grid infrastructure issues etc), you still wouldn't be able to find a spare charging port anywhere because people would need to leave their cars there for much longer than currently available.
I imagine that once people with an electric car have to experience having to wait 15-20 min at a charging station for a "quick top up", they will likely regret buying one.
All in all I don't see myself buying an electric car in the next 20 years (basically 3 to 4 cars from my current car).
Seriously? You're on an engineering site and you go through 4 cars in 20 years?
Apparently passion for electronics doesn't translate into other genres of physics?!
My last two vehicles are the 1984 and the 1998, purchased new... No plans to swap anything out anytime soon... They are working absolutely fine... This April is the truck's 20th birthday since being picked up from the dealership... I should buy it a paint job!
Convenience is everything to most people. You simply can't beat topping up a tank with 500km+ range in a couple of minutes at a petrol station every couple of square km.
Imagine what would be needed if say 80% of the population switched to electric cars overnight, you wouldn't be able to find a spare charging port anywhere.
I imagine that once people with an electric car have to experience having to wait 15-20 min at a charging station for a "quick top up", they will likely regret buying one.
Many people would be able to charge overnight at home. Shopping malls, businesses, etc. would be able to offer a charging service to attract customers. etc.
Not if charging can be done in parallel with common tasks like shopping/sleeping/working/eating. Remember: Electric cars also offer a lot of ways to avoid driving out of your way to go to a smelly petrol station every 500km.
It won't work for everybody but for many people it will balance out IMHO.
Also: A new battery tech might appear and change the equation overnight.
Convenience is everything to most people. You simply can't beat topping up a tank with 500km+ range in a couple of minutes at a petrol station every couple of square km.
Imagine what would be needed if say 80% of the population switched to electric cars overnight, you wouldn't be able to find a spare charging port anywhere.
And even if they replaced every current petrol pump with an electric charger (ignoring grid infrastructure issues etc), you still wouldn't be able to find a spare charging port anywhere because people would need to leave their cars there for much longer than currently available.
I imagine that once people with an electric car have to experience having to wait 15-20 min at a charging station for a "quick top up", they will likely regret buying one.
Indeed... There are many issues to be resolved before the electric panacea will be realized.
Many people do not seem to realize that in their head-long advocacy of the electric vehicle solving all problems for all time...
It is not nearly that simple, unfortunately...
One of the most common arguments I see against electric cars is that they're not suitable for ALL of many people's needs, people really get hung up on the assumption that one car has to do it all.
The charge time is a complete non-issue, they plug in the car when they get home from work and it's fully charged the next morning.
Regarding another comment, 4 cars in 20 years does seem like a lot to me. I bought a car with 225,000 miles on it for $500, drove it daily for 17 years and I'd still be driving it if not for getting rear ended by a semi. Got $6,000 for the car from the insurance due to it now being a classic and bought another similar car, hope to get another 17+ years out of it. If you take good care of a car it can last indefinitely until someone runs into it.
Indeed... There are many issues to be resolved before the electric panacea will be realized.
Many people do not seem to realize that in their head-long advocacy of the electric vehicle solving all problems for all time...
It is not nearly that simple, unfortunately...
Generally using switched rheostat sections and/or multiple motor windings or voltage stages. Using multiple tapped parts rather than one big rheostat limits wasted power in the rheostat.
Some of the stuff from that era was actually rather ingenious. You should read up on it more.
Sure, but still a HUGE number of people will get caught out.
And IME huger numbers of people park on the street outside their house so that's not possible.
And FYI, I"m hugely pro electric cars, and want to get one myself, by the practical engineer in me knows it's not going to go mainstream any time soon, it's not even close.
It´s sad that the range extender (aka plug-in hybrid) doesn´t find as much traction as it should. It does combine the best of both and can even solve some issues by having the ICE run in practical ideal conditions all the time.
It means the excess power is converted to heat in the resistor. That way you can only control motors up to a certain size using such a technology before that resistor burns - not to mention the significant loss of the stored energy in the control alone and the influence of overload on the vehicle leading to direct damage in motor or control (basically no motor protection existed back then).
PHEV have the drawbacks of both technologies :
- Cost is high, you have to pack both techs.
- Efficiency in long rage is as bad or worse as pure ICE
- Weight is high, you shclepp that ICE engine around every day for no benefit
- Not much space left in the car
- Maintenance costs are high, especially on ICE engines that are not regularily used
It's clearly a stop gap measure, or for some niche drive profiles.
I would even say it's a stop gap measure designed for keeping the actual car makers in buisiness, not for saving costs.
Problems are all solved, adoption is going up and up. the EV park is currently at 0.2% globally, and doubling every year.
https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/GlobalEVOutlook2017.pdf
That means that in 8 Years at the current rate, half the car park, and 80%+ of new cars will be EVs.
Problems are all solved, adoption is going up and up. the EV park is currently at 0.2% globally, and doubling every year.
https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/GlobalEVOutlook2017.pdf
That means that in 8 Years at the current rate, half the car park, and 80%+ of new cars will be EVs.Keep on dreaming and when you wake up look for a term called 'market saturation' https://www.consumerpsychologist.com/cb_Diffusion_of_Innovation.html. The current EVs are like iPhones and due to limitations of range, charging and price EVs will stay that way for quite some time to come.