Electric Vehicle FAQ
Where is the technology currently going with electric aircraft?: Right now there is a push for electric aircraft but this is a field in which the technology has yet to catch up with the vision. Airplanes that are electric will need a mixture of batteries as well as solar power to be able to traverse from, say, Seattle to Sacramento. The problem is that if it is a rainy night then flying is going to be a bit more difficult than it would otherwise be, considering that unpredictable weather patterns may cause power problems on land, not to mention while in flight. Sure the batteries can operate for a bit, but that’s mostly used for takeoff and landing. The technology just isn’t there to help make the absorption rate from the solar collection to really make this viable at the moment though it could improve in the future.
What are some of the different issues that are affecting electric vehicles currently?: There are more than a few issues that are coming to light with electric vehicles and none as much as the sheer volume of energy that is needed to help keep these vehicles on the road. In many ways this is an issue because the electric vehicle has very few places to recharge. While most electric vehicles can be plugged into an outlet, this is not a feature that is regularly found in most parking garages, apartment building and the like. Plugging in and getting a quick charge is important when it comes to “filling up” is important and if it can’t be done in a timely manner it may become a hindrance to have an electric vehicle. This of course is less of a problem when it comes to trains, streetcars, and of course busses.
There has been work with electromagnetic radiation in a manner to create energy that will help vehicles get from point a to point be using different methods of energy transference, which includes a metallic Faraday cage. Unfortunately because of the weight of the Faraday cage the use of this in any kind of vehicle vastly outweighs its ability to be a functional piece of the vehicle as it would weigh down the vehicle significantly. Interestingly, there is some debate over whether or not the United States power grid would actually be able to take the sudden need for electric cars, electric motorcycles, even electric planes and electric boats.
What about batteries? I understand that batteries are good for a while but don’t they get depleted quickly?: This is an issue, definitely as most batteries will have serious problems when it comes to high-capacity storage that serve as a vehicles primary power source. In the instance of car batteries, a stock vehicle with an internal combustion engine will be able to keep a battery for years. However, when there is no internal combustion engine and the battery is the primary source of drive-train power then the battery will be that much faster depleted than normal. In many cases, depending on the quality of the battery, there may be less than six hours of battery life in the vehicle with less than 55 miles worth of range for travel.
Another serious problem that affects electric vehicles is that there is no internal combustion, thus it is that much more difficult to heat the vehicle during inclimate weather or when the winter months finally descend then the battery will be depleted quickly, nearly by a full quarter even after recharging. Because of this, battery powered vehicles would seem not feasible in areas that experience a high amount of cold during the winter months as the range in which they could drive would be severely depleted. The only electric vehicles that would do well in these conditions would be vehicles such as electric assisted busses or trains where there is a constant electrical source for the vehicle.
