And the warm, if scratchy, voices on the Victrola.
Posted on 04/10/2023 10:56:50 AM PDT by Red Badger
I’ll be the first in line to support a coal fired automobile billowing smoke in leftists faces.
For mobile units yes. For stationary power steam cannot be beaten.
Fuel was either kerosene or gasoline for the Stanley steam car.
Nope. Absolutely false.
Thee most efficient engine made in the world is steam.
Lets see your ICE engines develop in excess of 4 to 5 thousand HP with two cylinders.
Cant do it, and you know it.
And the warm, if scratchy, voices on the Victrola.
Around here one could run a great distance in a steam car powered by shredded Amazon boxes.
Power plants for energy. Steam. We still use it massively. Saying “nuclear” or “oil” or “coal” is just the fuel to heat up steam.
Steam engine is the greatest invention ever IMO. Massive change due to them.
What the other guy said. Steam is THE propulsion source for energy creation.
Also think of steam locos. 2 tiny cylinders up front propel not only itself but an entire loaded train of 100 cars at honest speeds. That is serious power.
The mechanics and logistics of steam powered vehicles make them impractical. Who wants to go out on freezing morning fill the boiler with water (you did remember to drain it so it would freeze and break, didn’t you?), start a fire. wait half an hour, then refill the boiler every few miles and add more fuel? Yes, there are automatic water and fuel feeders, but they add expense and complications to the equation.
The reasons the railroads were eager to switch from steam to diesel electric were because the steam locomotives were a high maintenance item that were in constant need of work and they were dirty.
Single disadvantage: Quick start up for unpredicted demand.
That was gasoline-powered cars before the electric starter. You can STILL mechanically start a lot of cars, but without a handcrank, it involves pushing the car until everything is turning fast enough. I once did it with a 1998-ish Ford Taurus.
I can see why you say that, it got all the thinking and innovation started.
Sure, I’d roll-started modern cars. Stick shift, don’t know if you could do it with an auto. I’ve also crank started tractors. It’s a lot of work, and if not shown the proper respect, will break your arm. (Ford fractures were a thing in the day)
Our NUCLEAR ships? Technically, I suppose Nuclear propulsion is steam-based, but I’m thinking getting regulatory feasibility might be tough.
You could see a Stanley before you could hear it . . . and you could smell its owner before you could see him.
Interesting concept, by the microwave magnetron has to be powered by an electrical source, which means a generator. I suppose that a fire could start the water boiling until it could turn a generator to power a the magnetron, but the laws of thermodynamics chimes in and kicks over that sand castle with resistive and thermal and mechanical losses.
When mfr. tech advances to being able to consistently produce a closed vapor loop.
Steam, in the configuration we are discussing (small, mobile power plants) is much less efficient, because water is a poor working fluid which is depleted as it is used to provide power.
Steam turbines, with superheated steam as a working fluid, are efficient in very large plants with access to almost unlimited water for cooling and steam replacement.
The turbine needed to power a generator for a hybrid car could very small and light weight compared to a diesel-electric or gas-electric.
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