posted on Oct, 19 2011 @ 10:38 AM
This seems to pose some substantial problems, though... it would seem that the cold fusion reaction, itself, runs the risk of 'transmuting' the
materials used to generate the phenomena into some other element(s) that will, likely, be less than cooperative.
Still - seems fairly interesting.
reply to post by NorthStreet1
The (somewhat unfortunate) reality is that electric vehicles are simply impractical. Designs in the 80s ran off of lead-acid batteries - which are
heavy and degrade substantially under continual use. Solid state technologies were also not nearly as mature, then, as they are today (particularly
with the MOS technologies that are dominating the high-power market today due to cheap costs and much better efficiencies).
Electric cars have been built as demonstrators for quite some time - and even existed as far back as the 40s/50s - but they are simply not practical -
especially when you start adding in things like climate control (AC/heaters) and stereos.
What will start happening in the near future is a transition to an electronically centralized car design. The car will actually operate off of
electricity (and none of this half-assed single electric motor stuff - the motor will be integrated into each wheel - making an inherent 4WD with
EM-braking and various track-lock/anti-lock capabilities). Power will be generated by more standard means (some kind of engine or fuel cell) and
dumped into a power reserve (likely a mix of capacitors and batteries to give a good mix of surge performance and longer term endurance at higher
power draw) - which will power the car's systems (spare for the heater - which will likely run off of waste heat from the power generator).
To link this all back into the OP - the power generator could also be a drop-in "Cold Fusion" replacement reactor (simply built to the form factor
of the fuel cell or APU module that was previously in the car).
Or... that would be if the cars automobile industry was free-market. It is not. Government regulations will ensure that, if Cold Fusion came out
tomorrow (and it was perfect for automotive applications) - it would be 20-30 years before we ever saw it in the automotive industry.