Politics

[Doubleplay]

I don’t believe that when the combustion engines were invented the government told their citizens to give up their wagons, horses and drive a gas engine vehicle. I’m ok w the EVs, but don’t tell me that by 20xx I better be driving one. If I have to pay for something out my own pocket, I will drive whatever I want. If the Gov wants me to drive an EV, well they better park one for free on my drive way. Meanwhile I’ll continue to drive my Chevy 2500.

Don't worry, nobody will be driving anything in the not so distant future.
It'll be all self driving.

 

[Doubleplay]

Hard to fathom the callousness. I see that the US has finally allowed the F16’s to progress. Why so long? Can this be laid at Biden’s door or is it the pentagon?

Politics aside do you think giving a non Nato country F-16's is an easy decision?
I'm actually surprised that it happened.

 

[BSO Dave]

I had heard that but wasn't sure enough to include it.

I was in Lake Charles, LA immediately after hurricane Laura to help rescue and move my mother from her demolished assisted living facility. The city was devastated and all of Southwest Louisiana went without power for weeks. An EV in such an environment would be nothing but a yard ornament.

Gas stations were either destroyed or also without power, so families were driving to Beaumont, TX with jerry cans to keep generators going. This too would have been a mission that would be impossible for EV's. And how about all the FEMA, fire fighting, rescue, and power vehicles that needed to work throughout the area. I assume the green commandos would have felt virtuous while people suffered or died.

It was a huge local story here in Southwest Florida. There were regular advisories warning of the fire danger broadcast on the local news outlets, but it was completely ignored by the national news. There were dozens of incidents of these EV's catching on fire that had occured over the first few weeks following the storm.

It seems that EV's have a critical design flaw of shorting out when the battery is submerged... These flooded vehicles where spontaneously combusting days and weeks after the storm. Stranded vehcles were randomly catching fire and EV's stored in garages caused several house fires. One car dealership in Estero near me caught fire from an EV that was towed in and being stored in the repair lot which took out dozens more vehicles and damaged the shop badly.

Teslas were the most prone to the shorts, but there where other brands that were catching fire as well..

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

@PHOENIX PHIL I'm not an EE like yourself, but I've followed the technology with great interest. Your facts are indeed, facts. Here's what I know second hand:

In about 2001 there was a documentary called "who killed the electric car?". (remember EVs came and went in the early 2000s?) There was a scientist that was working on these technologies, last name started with an O. He did have some patents which were ultimately bought by Chevron. You can dig into that a bit if you wish. The other anecdote was an article I believe in Forbes or Fortune in the early 2000s about the top-10 or top-20 technologies that will revolutionize the 21st century. One on that list was the possibility of slow-drain capacitors and they interviewed those working on potential designs.

What has come out recently was theoretical designs for a battery built on purely carbon technologies. Obviously, carbon is very cheap and its weight as an element is far less than rare earth metals. They think this technology may evolve faster than the slow drain capacitor + voltage regulator scenario in the first paragraph.

I'm just a curious consumer that takes particular interest in this topic because I believe present battery technology dependence is a national security risk. (Russia/China control the raw materials) Current battery technology also makes for very heavy vehicles, whereas the two potential technologies I mention above would have aerospace uses as well as cars due to their lighter weight.

Could Ultracapacitors Replace Batteries in Future Electric Vehicles?

Ultracapacitors have been making the news of late but could they viably replace batteries in the EVs of the future?

interestingengineering.com

Interesting article and it kind of makes my point in the end, which is it's about energy. One thing I noted was in the first picture, the capacitors there were rated at 2600 Farads. I think maybe I've seen a few capacitors in the 1 Farad range, likely for use in stereo systems. The capacitors I typically work with are in the uF (mico-Farad) and pF (pico-Farad) range.

One take away from the article seems to be that these super capacitors are probably not a single solution, but would best utilized when paired with a battery.

I share you concern regarding batteries and the need for large ones for EVs. I think it was already noted earlier the impact nickel mining is having in Indonesia and cobalt coming out of the DRC.

 

[rookhawk]

Politics aside do you think giving a non Nato country F-16's is an easy decision?
I'm actually surprised that it happened.

Just speculation on my part, but I suspect the west's goal isn't to win the war rapidly. Every slow decision exterminates more Russians. Russia's population is going extinct and the population age pyramid of their culture has inverted. Russia would not have been capable of waging war in 5-10 years, just not enough warrior-age men.

So if inside the Pentagon they perceive Russia as a perennial and persistent threat to western interests, slow-playing this war doesn't just end in a final peace, but it ends in the extinction of the Russian threat forever.

If 500,000 breeding-age men die on the Russian side of this conflict, they are an extinct people.

 

[sestoppelman]

Just speculation on my part, but I suspect the west's goal isn't to win the war rapidly. Every slow decision exterminates more Russians. Russia's population is going extinct and the population age pyramid of their culture has inverted. Russia would not have been capable of waging war in 5-10 years, just not enough warrior-age men.

So if inside the Pentagon they perceive Russia as a perennial and persistent threat to western interests, slow-playing this war doesn't just end in a final peace, but it ends in the extinction of the Russian threat forever.

If 500,000 breeding-age men die on the Russian side of this conflict, they are an extinct people.

View attachment 552247

Interesting scenario.

 

[Brent in Az]

New bombshell allegations were released of Joe Biden using fake names in his tangled web of bribery & corruption.

And......with impeccable timing, Commie Katie Hobbs here in Az, may try to get an indictment on Trump.

The troop of Democrat flying monkey's is far reaching.

 

[shootist~]

Screw battery powered cars. I'll wait for Mr. Fusion:

 

[PARA45]

Sadly, your philosophy is just imagination, the government tells you what to drive right now. They do it in many ways, let me list a few: A.) Gas guzzler tax which makes large and high performance vehicles so expensive that they price the consumer out of their purchase. B.) DEF/EGR systems, neutering horsepower, reliability, all while increasing operating costs and repairs. C.) Registration fees that are more for large vehicles.

Just a few random examples.

Nonetheless, every fanatical anti-EV statement on the forum (not saying you were one of them) focuses on an extraordinary case as a strawman to debunk EVs. Hauling 32 hours straight through -40 degree weather with 12,000 pound trailer uphills both ways sort of anecdotes. That use case is never going to be the primary utility of an EV and they aren't even planning/designing an EV for that tiny segment of buyers so its a nothingburger.

The supermajority of all people in the US drive <40 miles a day. The average American has visited only 17 States in their entire life by all means of transportation. <- That's 80% of the EV market. Only recently have they attempted to cater to alternative market segments (e.g. Cyber Truck) which hasn't even been released yet.

By 2040 EVs will actually be the far, far better vehicle that oil driven vehicles, but it requires one of two technology breakthroughs. 1.) Slow drain capacitors, which would be 1/10th the weight which in turn would allow people to drive around with 1500 mile capacities. OR 2.) Carbon based batteries that are lighter in weight and do not require rare earth metals. One or both will be in production in our lifetime because rare earth battery demand is not sustainable, its only a necessary evil at the present.

We're literally at the point of EVs where computers were when windows 95 came out. Functional, sorta, with viability for some customers, but most of the readers here weren't ready to get a home PC when that was the operating system you had to endure.

Those are regulations the government is imposing on us to make money, or controlling like you’ve said. However, the government does not control what I currently drive. Until recently you could delete any diesel truck legally, and made the truck more efficient. However, I still have the option/choice to choose whatever type of vehicle I want to drive/own. The government did not say to only drive x,y, z vehicle, but now they have. If I’m paying for it, I’ll drive what I want, until the day comes when I cannot drive any more, there are no more vehicles of my liking. By then I think I’ll be too old to care.

 

[F. Vaccaro]

View attachment 552238

Yes it does!

 

[sestoppelman]

Someone mentioned earlier that his fake names have been known about for years, but this is the first time I have heard of it and the media seems uninformed of it as well.
They are shocked, shocked I say!

New bombshell allegations were released of Joe Biden using fake names in his tangled web of bribery & corruption.

And......with impeccable timing, Commie Katie Hobbs here in Az, may try to get an indictment on Trump.

The troop of Democrat flying monkey's is far reaching.

 

[Brent in Az]

There is a claim from a reliable source inside the Georgia D.A's office, that the Whitehouse made a phone call, and told Fani Willis to announce the indictment on Monday, instead of on a Tuesday.

I'm sure they will make a similar call to Commie Katie.

 

[sestoppelman]

There is a claim from a reliable source inside the Georgia D.A's office, that the Whitehouse made a phone call, and told Fani Willis to announce the indictment on Monday, instead of on a Tuesday.

I'm sure they will make a similar call to Commie Katie.

Something happened because all of a sudden it became urgent, and she kept the jury late to do it, and the fact they "accidentally" posted the charges BEFORE the jury had decided?
Something rotten in Georgia and not a rainy night!

This occurs to me also. Some talking head said that with the huge number of charges against Trump it would be hard not to get a conviction on some of them.

Sure, you charge anyone with enuf charges and something will stick, anyone. Thats the well-orchestrated plan here, charge him with enuf "crimes", and surely they can get something to put him jail with.

Never in the history of America have we seen anything like this happen. But wait, I know, dont tell me.

Its Trumps fault!

 

[WAB]

Sadly, your philosophy is just imagination, the government tells you what to drive right now. They do it in many ways, let me list a few: A.) Gas guzzler tax which makes large and high performance vehicles so expensive that they price the consumer out of their purchase. B.) DEF/EGR systems, neutering horsepower, reliability, all while increasing operating costs and repairs. C.) Registration fees that are more for large vehicles.

Just a few random examples.

Nonetheless, every fanatical anti-EV statement on the forum (not saying you were one of them) focuses on an extraordinary case as a strawman to debunk EVs. Hauling 32 hours straight through -40 degree weather with 12,000 pound trailer uphills both ways sort of anecdotes. That use case is never going to be the primary utility of an EV and they aren't even planning/designing an EV for that tiny segment of buyers so its a nothingburger.

The supermajority of all people in the US drive
By 2040 EVs will actually be the far, far better vehicle that oil driven vehicles, but it requires one of two technology breakthroughs. 1.) Slow drain capacitors, which would be 1/10th the weight which in turn would allow people to drive around with 1500 mile capacities. OR 2.) Carbon based batteries that are lighter in weight and do not require rare earth metals. One or both will be in production in our lifetime because rare earth battery demand is not sustainable, its only a necessary evil at the present.

We're literally at the point of EVs where computers were when windows 95 came out. Functional, sorta, with viability for some customers, but most of the readers here weren't ready to get a home PC when that was the operating system you had to endure.

Unfortunately your response reminds me of the movie ‘Field of Dreams’. Many bureaucrats and ideologues believe that if they institute a mandate scientists will magically create a solution. Sometimes this is true, often it is not. I was on the EMA/EPA/NPRA task force that worked on low sulfur diesel and subsequently ultra low sulfur diesel regs. The ‘Field of Dreams’ approach worked for LSD (500 ppm). There was no way to make it work without multi-billion dollar cap ex and ongoing elevated op ex for ULSD. The bureaucrats didn’t believe the industry experts (of whom I was one) and rolled out the regs anyway. Remember when diesel was cheaper than gas in the summer and more expensive in the winter? You will never see those days again thanks to ULSD. We can’t rewrite the laws of physical chemistry to please the politicians.

The technology leaps in batteries and capacitors you cite do not exist and will not be easy. They may become reality, they may not. I think it the height of folly to assume that they will be and chart a path forward on that basis.

 

[CoElkHunter]

There is only one advantage here in CA I see with the EV vehicles, and if I was commuting 50-60 miles to work each day I would buy a Tesla for that commute only. The one advantage is the use of commuter lanes with only one person in the car.

Both of my brothers still live in Californicate. One has an EV and likes it, but they have several gas vehicles too. I personally don't want or can afford a "collection" of vehicles for different purposes and I certainly don't want a never ending car payment when the EV's battery craps out at 10-15K and the resale value is about ZERO because of the replacement cost for the battery.

 

[Jeff505]

All valid arguments about the EV with the current technology.
However it won't mean anything when you look back 20 years from now.
Similar things had been brought up about the combustible engines in the early days.
Ev's are the future and they're here to stay and take over.

How wonderful that you can predict the future. Many other ideas and attempts at replacing the internal combustion engine have come and gone. Maybe one day this will be true, with current technology the EVs are the most polluting and unreliable vehicles on the road. The term “pipe dream” comes to mind.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Unfortunately your response reminds me of the movie ‘Field of Dreams’. Many bureaucrats and ideologues believe that if they institute a mandate scientists will magically create a solution. Sometimes this is true, often it is not. I was on the EMA/EPA/NPRA task force that worked on low sulfur diesel and subsequently ultra low sulfur diesel regs. The ‘Field of Dreams’ approach worked for LSD (500 ppm). There was no way to make it work without multi-billion dollar cap ex and ongoing elevated op ex for ULSD. The bureaucrats didn’t believe the industry experts (of whom I was one) and rolled out the regs anyway. Remember when diesel was cheaper than gas in the summer and more expensive in the winter? You will never see those days again thanks to ULSD. We can’t rewrite the laws of physical chemistry to please the politicians.

The technology leaps in batteries and capacitors you cite do not exist and will not be easy. They may become reality, they may not. I think it the height of folly to assume that they will be and chart a path forward on that basis.

I've read several pieces where ULSD doesn't reduce emissions to the great extent the "experts" thought and costs much more to refine than LSD. Similar to ethanol, where the farming of the corn produces overall more emissions than the ethanol added to gasoline reduces. More experts! Anyway, I'm getting a flux capacitor for my F250 diesel so I can get 75-100mpg.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Politics aside do you think giving a non Nato country F-16's is an easy decision?
I'm actually surprised that it happened.

Yes, it's easy. We've given the F-16 and a myriad of other fighter aircraft to Israel, Taiwan, etc.

 

[Red Leg]

Politics aside do you think giving a non Nato country F-16's is an easy decision?
I'm actually surprised that it happened.

Actually it is both an easy and ideal solution. The F-16 is being replaced rapidly across NATO by the F35. Beginning this year, Lockheed Martin (ably assisted by Northrop Grumman) will be churning out 175 a year (so much for the problem plagued program nonsense). That is why the various NATO variant aircraft are available. All those aircraft will go to other second tier countries. Ukraine, besides its obvious need, is also a likely future EU member and at least an abiding NATO ally if not full member.

Interesting places like Pakistan, Morocco, Jordan, Israel, and Egypt among several other non-NATO nations also operate it.

Perhaps most importantly, the maintenance and supply infrastructure for the aircraft is fully mature across NATO making support for the Ukrainian fleet very simple. It is also a single engine aircraft which simplifies operations even over their own surviving MIG 29's. Sadly, it is a decision would could have made just as easily last summer.

 

[mdwest]

It’s also important to understand there are numerous variants of the F16 (a-f versions) and an even greater number of subvariants (blocks 1-70) within those primary variants, not to mention a handful of special variants that have been made for specific exports…

All F16’s are not created equal…

Some are exceptional 4th generation fighters… some are pretty “basic”…

Very different engines, radars, weapons systems, flight controls, etc..


Same story with f15’s, m1 tanks,etc…