LOL. Read the comments! For going on 15 years, "Technology Review" hasn't been worthy of affiliation with MIT. Tesla’s Novel Battery and Charging Technology | MIT Technology Review Pick of the litter for comedy: "I have a better idea. What if we didn't need to worry about the battery at all? No worries about the weight of it, getting electrocuted by it in an accident, the expense of replacing it, or the toxic, environmentally damaging processes of making it and disposing of it. What if instead we could power a vehicle by burning a natural, organic compound produced from the distillation of petroleum? Such a volatile liquid compound would be perfectly stable at sea level pressures and temperatures, for an indefinite period of time. Only one gallon would have the energy equivalence of 33.70 kWh, so just 3 gallons would yield the energy equivalent of the Tesla 90 kWh battery. And 3 gallons of this natural, organic, liquid compound would weigh less than 20 lbs, as opposed to 1,200 lbs for the battery. The average passenger vehicle could easily hold a tank of 20 gal or so, which on average would give a driving range of about 500 miles, with a fuel weight of about 120 lbs, and it would be constantly getting lighter as the vehicle burns off the liquid. Such a vehicle would give incredible driving performance. Just some thoughts..."
Well, Air_Boss you made some good points in this post, except for the electrocution comment . Cars Bursting Into Flames All Over China--And They're Not Electric
And fail to mention that you'll need a more complicated "motor" and "transmission". Sorry, "a transmission", that is instead of the single reduction gear you'd find in a normal car, you'd have a series of gears like a bicycle. The engine can't actually start itself so you'll still have to use a small electric motor to spin it to start. Oh, and because all of the moving parts in a combustion engine there's a delayed response between you pressing the pedal and the car doing its thing. Oh yes, and you'll have to use a separate pedal to brake, not just in emergencies, because it can't re-capture some of the kinetic energy when braking. Of course, that means more brake wear. Oh, and the engine gets really hot and has to be lubricated so it'll need some oil (better to use synthetic oil rather than stuff made from petroleum) every 10,000 miles. Also, unfortunately, while it'll give you a good amount of range for each charge, you'll have to buy the fuel at a dedicated store rather than just plugging in the car at home. (So, sorry, you can't offset the energy you need to run the car with your solar panels any more.) Oh and the price of the fuel will be, oh, I have no idea, it changes from day to day.
