10 May 2012 Electric Vehicles & The New Electricity

Electric vehicles have begun to appear on world markets with, to date, weak sales and unknown
commercial success potential. One attractive feature is zero gasoline or diesel fuel and thus no
crude oil consumption. The vehicles are expensive however overall cost compared a gasoline car
can be similar, the higher purchase price softened by the very low fuel cost. Drawbacks are four;
charging takes time, the battery pack replacement is expensive, range is limited and often other
fossil fuels, such as coal, must be burned to generate charging electricity. This last aspect
negates a good deal of the perceived environmental benefit.

Fuel use will drop off sharply in the not-so-distant future. The causes and effects of that are for
another day, safe to say for this discussion, electric vehicles will be popular again as the
drawbacks improve and unavailability of liquid hydrocarbon fuel force a change.

Battery packs, both lithium ion and nickel-hydride, wear out, losing the ability to hold a charge.
Once out of service, they can deteriorate and emit significant toxic waste. They are expensive,
partially because the proper disposal costs are high.

Knowledge of metallurgy not yet known will be presented; this will permit manufacture of
battery packs with higher capacity, smaller size and little toxic concern. These new batteries will
be used in applications conceptually similar to those using the disposal batteries now widely
manufactured. The difference is, these newer devices will receive, store and produce more power
than either disposal or rechargeable batteries do currently. Much higher amounts of power.

The new electricity generation method will allow recharge units to be placed at specific intervals
well within the range of the new vehicles. The charging voltage will be far higher and
standardized, with accident resistant charging stations located on principal routes well within
range of the batteries. Motorists will be able to stop and recharge in approximately the time now
required to fill a gasoline tank. Best of all, no fuel will be consumed to produce this power.

The vehicles themselves will be generally larger. Air filled tires will go away, replaced by plastic
wheels with several dozen "spokes" performing the function air and sidewalls do now. These
wheels will offer lower rolling resistance and more cushioning and will only require a periodic
replacement of the rubber strip touching the road; no disposal and complete replacement will be
necessary as is the case with air filled tires.

Most car and small truck engines are capable of at least 6,000 rpm engine speed but rarely
exceed half that. Gearboxes of all sorts switch ratios to keep engine speeds and therefore fuel
consumption low.

The new vehicles will of course use electric motors, which are very powerful. The range of speed
over which electric motors operate is tight, no more than several hundred RPM but they are
much lighter than gasoline /diesel engines so two of them can be used and still weigh far less
than one piston reciprocating engine. Continuously variable transmissions CVTs in automaker
parlance have been offered for a few years now on several makes; Ford tried it but set aside
production however Audi, Nissan and Suzuki offer them widely. These units have no gears, ratio
changes being accomplished with a variable pulley and chain, controlled by computer. The range
of torque multiplication can be made very wide. Two electric motors and CVTs, arranged so one
supplies power up to 20/32 or 25/40 mph/kph, the other up to motorway speeds will
comfortably provide an electric vehicle with the ability to travel as does any gasoline vehicle.

Use of vehicles will never return to current levels; there will be no need for it. On-demand
transportation and a society physically built around it the parts of most western cities
developed after WWII are a good example will no longer require the current proportion of cars
to inhabitants.

Small size vehicles will not be popular; todays vehicle gadgets that add to costs will be all but
forgotten. Carmakers of right now will all be radically changed and shrunk; many will fail and
disappear. Since the principal cost of a car is labor and factory overhead, not material costs,
larger cars have traditionally cost almost the same to make whether small or large. As vehicles
like electric cars become basic again, costs will not rise because of widget and gadgetry. SUV size
units will predominate.

Two electric motors and CVTs will still only require half the current engine space but cooling
and airflow will be far less critical. Battery packs will be placed all throughout these vehicles, in
the optimum amount to balance range with weight using the new metallurgy for them.

Maintenance will be far less frequent or expensive, fewer people will have electric vehicles and
the vehicles themselves will be quite long lasting and reliable. Design, fashion and status
associated with cars nowadays will fade.

Trucks and heavy transport, the volume of which will fall dramatically, will switch to natural gas,
liquefied and compressed. These will also become popular for jet aircraft and dirigibles. Natural
gas is abundant in many parts of the world and burns very cleanly.

These developments will come gradually at first and then quickly as piston engine vehicles are
no more. If a car can be kept for now, do so. If a replacement is needed, get a used one.