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Some turn of the (previous) century transport technology...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhnjMdzGusc
View from 3:17 onwards for what looks like a nice simple electric vehicle technology that does the business and which I imagine a small Mars settlement could replicate (with pressurised cab!).
Last edited by louis (2017-05-30 16:13:54)
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One hundred miles per charge is impressive for something over a century old, especially considering it must have been using lead-acid batteries.
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If it's still going, I doubt it uses Lead Acid. Much more likely to be using Nickel Iron batteries - low density, but they shrug off abuse that would destroy other batteries.
"I'm gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." - If this forum was a Mars Colony
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That's a restored vintage car. It is using a small bank of the modern equivalent commercially-available lead acid battery, to that which was the only available form of a century ago (also lead acid, just not as durably packaged). Same basic lead acid as most of our cars today.
The reason it had the reported range was the slow travel speed (5 to 15 mph). That's a power-draw low enough that even a small battery bank will last a few hours. And even at low speeds, it's fairly easy to reach a hundred miles.
As an aside, with a larger bank of batteries, the same lead acid battery technology was applied to switching-yard locomotives well over half a century ago. Further, it was and still is the basis of underwater propulsion of non-nuclear submarines, ever since about 1895.
There may actually be better batteries (and certainly for hybrid cars there are), but the old lead acid standard is still very, very hard to beat for practicality and cost.
GW
Last edited by GW Johnson (2017-06-02 14:10:29)
GW Johnson
McGregor, Texas
"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew, especially one dead from a bad management decision"
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"I'm gonna die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy." - If this forum was a Mars Colony
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