Posted on 07/31/2009 5:47:32 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
We've been closely following EEStor's potentially game-changing ultracapacitor--a technology that could allow for electric cars that charge almost instantaneously and drive hundreds of miles on a single charge.
And if a purportedly "leaked" phone conversation from EEStor CEO Richard Weir currently making the rounds is legit, the long-in-development ultracapacitor has hit a breakthrough, and could be unveiled within months.
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EEStor's ultracapacitor works more or less exactly like the capacitors found in electronics today, briefly holding and releasing small charges, only on a much larger scale; it would be able rapidly take on enough juice to power a car for 250-300 miles within a matter of minutes, EEStor claims. It could also be used to store renewable energy generated by solar and wind plants more efficiently.
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Though the source of the leak is unconfirmed, rumors are swirling that EEStor is working with the likes of Lockheed Martin, making the project seemingly more legit. But considering the company's secretive nature and unspectacular previous public tests, this "leak" could be nothing more than an ingenious marketing stunt.
The previous article is at:
Forgot to check that this is an excerpt. Sorry.
Ping to a follow-up to the article you posted about EESTOR
Hmmm...Leaked, huh? Sounds a little fishy to me.
If true. I want 5 of ‘em! I have a house I wanna power up!
I can use one to power my Flying Car, which PM said I would have ten years ago... and twenty years ago... and thirty years ago...
I do not like leaky capacitors.
Publicity stunt. That’s all these types of companies are good at doing.
Well, we will see when the rubber hits the road. Batteries in electric cars have consistently produced underwhelming results. The battery pack is designed for 300 miles, so they say, and then most of the reviews have the car actually going 100 miles or less. If the capacitors are equally elusive in yielding their best in the real world, we have progressed no further. I would also be concerned about the safety of these beasts — what happens if one decides to short itself out? Do we get a big explosion as it and all the rest dump their energy into the fault?
You know what’s really sad => 50 years ago, we dreamed of advancing life through technology. Today, all we hear is gloom and doom. If these clowns win the day, we’ll all be moving back into caves in 10 years, that is only the lucky few who are allowed to live!!
I voted for Palin, too ; - )
This is going to make regenerative braking systems into a whole new breed of cat. With an electrical boost motor all your braking power is collected and when you accelerate you get an electrical boost thus saving fuel, a concept thats been tried hydraulically and in some electric cars but the battery bank weight overcomes any real advantage.
maybe i can add this to my list of truly amazing inventions and cures that will be here in just “five years”
why not just do as Tesla suggested ...send the power through the air and put a receiver in each car ...kinda like a radio
You probably COULD have a flying car today. I don’t think the idea took off too well (pardon the pun) because of the dangers posed by filling the skies with a city’s worth of car-weight aircraft steered by average drivers. Nobody on the Jetsons ever had a car crash or stall in the sky and fall into somebody’s house.
To accomplish that, you would need a power cord able to carry a megawatt of power.
For example, the Honda EV+'s battery holds 26.2 kwh. To charge that in 10 minutes, you need a 262 KW power source. That's over 500 amps at 500 volts.
I’m calling BS on the “almost instantaneously” part. Capacitors may allow for much higher charge rates, but for most uses, where are you going to get this extremely high voltage and current source to stuff however many Joules of energy into the capacitor in that short of a time? We’re talking some seriously big conductors and/or seriously high voltages. And probably a bank of (even higher voltage)ultracapacitors in the charging station to build up the juice ready to transfer it to the vehicle. OK, not to say it’s completely unfeasible technically, but it’s certainly another challenge.
Where’s the “Not this shit again.” poster?
Clarify on why regenerative braking would need a heavier battery bank than the car already needs to just run on a charge?
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