Discuss the viability of hybrid cars and hydrogen-powered vehicles
What will be an ideal response?
?
It is clear that other fuel sources have to be found for automobiles because oil reserves are being depleted. Two options that the automobile industry is working on are hybrid cars and hydrogen-powered vehicles. With the price of gasoline skyrocketing since 2005, hybrid cars are increasingly becoming popular. Japan is taking the lead in producing hybrids. Hybrid vehicles combine electric motors and rechargeable batteries with a conventional gasoline engine to boost mileage by as much as 40%. To save gasoline fuel, the gas engine shuts down when the car stops or coasts. It restarts immediately when the driver hits the accelerator. The electric motor drives the car at low speeds (at which gas engines are least efficient). The gas engine provides most of the energy at highway speeds. A sealed battery pack powers the electric motor and recharges automatically. The size of the sealed battery pack is one of the few disadvantages of a hybrid-it takes up about as much storage space as a spare tire. Most battery packs are guaranteed to last at least 100,000 miles. In a hybrid, the heat energy generated by using the brakes is captured and used to recharge the battery pack. This "regenerative braking" helps make hybrids ideal for stop-and-go driving. Hybrids have other design features meant to reduce drag or weight, such as stiffer tires inflated to a higher pressure.
Hydrogen-powered vehicles require 90% fewer moving parts than hybrids. With hydrogen-powered vehicles, fuel cells produce energy through a chemical reaction, like a battery, rather than combustion, so there's no need for camshafts, pistons, or dozens of other bits of machinery. Because the hydrogen fuel cell can be placed anywhere in the vehicle (not just under the hood), cars can be recast with better safety structures and more user-friendly interiors. Another advantage is that fuel cells emit no pollutants, only water vapor. Because hydrogen comes from other sources in addition to fossil fuels and can even be wrung out water, it could take the auto industry out of the competition for petroleum.
There are, however, several technological breakthroughs that are needed to mass-produce hydrogen-powered vehicles. One involves safety concerns. Hydrogen is highly volatile and flammable; it has been used to power rocket engines and make devastating bombs. A second concern is the high cost of manufacturing hydrogen fuel cells; currently, a host of expensive materials is required to manufacture the cells. A third concern is that currently hydrogen fuel cells weigh substantially more than an internal combustion engine. A fourth concern is the development of a fueling infrastructure; most commercial hydrogen currently is made as part of the processing of natural gas and is about 20% more expensive than a comparable amount of gasoline. ?
You might also like to view...
Define causality.
What will be an ideal response?
The proportion of nursing home care that is paid by Medicaid:
A) is lower than the proportion paid by Medicare. B) is lower than what is paid by private long-term care insurance. C) is increasing due to population growth. D) is increasing due to price increases by health providers.
Liberals are more likely than conservatives to want to:
a. Support roles for state and local governments. b. Support free-market approaches,such as vouchers. c. Support additional taxes for social programs. d. Use the economic regulatory powers of the government to address problems in the workings of the private markets.
What is an agreement for work?
A) ?A statement that the practitioner is willing to work on behalf of the client for a certain fee. B) ?A statement of mutually agreed-upon goals that serves to bring together previous understandings between the practitioner and the client. C) ?An agreement for the practitioner to provide services to the client, to be completed during the first session. D) ?An agreement that the client is willing to work on his/her problems.