This is a link to another blog about alternative fuels.
http://greenfuelpower.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Alternative Fuels Research Paper
Patrick McPherson
Research Paper
10/25/2008
The scarcity of gasoline has become too large of a problem in the world and the U.S. needs to find an alternative fuel. There are many alternative fuels out in the world that are being looked at. But what it is really going to come down to is the minds of America. Americans need to find out how they could get enough pumps for the source without putting America in more debt, and also would have to make the cars less expensive so that Americans would buy the cars so that the fuel will be utilized. There are 6 fuels that are currently being speculated: nuclear energy, hydrogen, electric, propane, hybrids, and solar. All of these are good fuels, but I would imagine America is looking for a source that is new in every way and that is can very obtainable and affordable. It really is not just a pick the most efficient source and go with it, it is much more difficult than that and will take years to convert America to another source. America needs to find a source which is already utilized in current day, but not yet for cars and that America has a lot of so that they would no longer have to deal with foreign affairs. (West)
Hybrids are a great idea and transition into a new source of fuel. But the way America will go is not in the direction of electric. Electric does work but only if someone would want a one seated car, because the technology of batteries has not advanced far enough to keep a battery compact inside of a car. These batteries are simply too bulky and space consuming. But the idea of mixing fuels has crossed the minds of America in that it would be a good transition to make a car that operates on the newly found source and gasoline because no one would be restricted be where they could go because it does operate on gasoline too, but they are also using the alternative fuel. So they would save money and get where they are going all in one car. (Gable)
Propane is another source being speculated currently and is looking promising but has its flaws. Propane is a natural gas with fewer emissions than gasoline, but it has lesser fuel density than gasoline so you would end up paying more for propane than gasoline. It would cost around 70 dollars to fill the average car.
Solar energy is a source that has been tested over and again by colleges and labs across the U.S. but it is too flawed. Similar to electric power it needs a lot of space to operate. In the field tests the cars were one seated and covered in solar panels. They were also tested in some of the sunniest places in the U.S. The solar power is also not very dependable in that if someone were to leave their car in a garage for two days or so they would have to find a way to provide sun to the vehicle to even get it to start. But the problem has been avoided by mixing the solar energy with electric. By doing this you have made it so that when you are not in a sunny area or don’t want to use the solar power of the car you could turn on the electricity and have that power you. But once again they both simply take up too much space and in reality is not a realistic choice for any vehicle. Bruce McPherson with Suniva Solar Technologies says “Solar energy has been recently speculated as an alternative fuel but the stance that Suniva is taking is that they would like to pursue energy in the form of powering houses, lights, ect.”
Hydrogen is a great fuel but you have to use a lot of energy to make it. Even though the fuel is limitless this fuel is still being made by things that have limits. This means that you would either have to pay through the nose for expensive gasoline to make inexpensive hydrogen. The entire gas crisis is very hard to fix because so many factories and cars depend on gasoline. Now there are hydrogen pumps that have been installed in California but so far they have not been used like they were expected. But that is because if there are only pumps in California then you can’t go anywhere outside of California. Even with the money you would save people just don’t see the point until America takes a head first dive into hydrogen and really starts installing pumps.
Nuclear energy is a great source to use in modern day and is made by merging the nuclei of atoms together. The source is very dependable and already been used to power factories all over the world. The reason why this source is so appealing is because it has already proven it can power things and it is limitless. Some people think that it will be the new source in America but others think that hydrogen will also be.
The problem is California took a dive into hydrogen before fully investigating it. California is currently using gasoline and oil to power some of the process in the making of hydrogen which in turn means that they are just as much depending on gasoline as before if we were to go with hydrogen. The shortages would be the same as gasoline because without the factories working then no hydrogen is made. So by going with hydrogen you are going with more gasoline. Nuclear energy is different. It requires less energy to make than it has. Some would speculate that it would be the new fuel source in America in years to come. (West)
Research Paper
10/25/2008
The scarcity of gasoline has become too large of a problem in the world and the U.S. needs to find an alternative fuel. There are many alternative fuels out in the world that are being looked at. But what it is really going to come down to is the minds of America. Americans need to find out how they could get enough pumps for the source without putting America in more debt, and also would have to make the cars less expensive so that Americans would buy the cars so that the fuel will be utilized. There are 6 fuels that are currently being speculated: nuclear energy, hydrogen, electric, propane, hybrids, and solar. All of these are good fuels, but I would imagine America is looking for a source that is new in every way and that is can very obtainable and affordable. It really is not just a pick the most efficient source and go with it, it is much more difficult than that and will take years to convert America to another source. America needs to find a source which is already utilized in current day, but not yet for cars and that America has a lot of so that they would no longer have to deal with foreign affairs. (West)
Hybrids are a great idea and transition into a new source of fuel. But the way America will go is not in the direction of electric. Electric does work but only if someone would want a one seated car, because the technology of batteries has not advanced far enough to keep a battery compact inside of a car. These batteries are simply too bulky and space consuming. But the idea of mixing fuels has crossed the minds of America in that it would be a good transition to make a car that operates on the newly found source and gasoline because no one would be restricted be where they could go because it does operate on gasoline too, but they are also using the alternative fuel. So they would save money and get where they are going all in one car. (Gable)
Propane is another source being speculated currently and is looking promising but has its flaws. Propane is a natural gas with fewer emissions than gasoline, but it has lesser fuel density than gasoline so you would end up paying more for propane than gasoline. It would cost around 70 dollars to fill the average car.
Solar energy is a source that has been tested over and again by colleges and labs across the U.S. but it is too flawed. Similar to electric power it needs a lot of space to operate. In the field tests the cars were one seated and covered in solar panels. They were also tested in some of the sunniest places in the U.S. The solar power is also not very dependable in that if someone were to leave their car in a garage for two days or so they would have to find a way to provide sun to the vehicle to even get it to start. But the problem has been avoided by mixing the solar energy with electric. By doing this you have made it so that when you are not in a sunny area or don’t want to use the solar power of the car you could turn on the electricity and have that power you. But once again they both simply take up too much space and in reality is not a realistic choice for any vehicle. Bruce McPherson with Suniva Solar Technologies says “Solar energy has been recently speculated as an alternative fuel but the stance that Suniva is taking is that they would like to pursue energy in the form of powering houses, lights, ect.”
Hydrogen is a great fuel but you have to use a lot of energy to make it. Even though the fuel is limitless this fuel is still being made by things that have limits. This means that you would either have to pay through the nose for expensive gasoline to make inexpensive hydrogen. The entire gas crisis is very hard to fix because so many factories and cars depend on gasoline. Now there are hydrogen pumps that have been installed in California but so far they have not been used like they were expected. But that is because if there are only pumps in California then you can’t go anywhere outside of California. Even with the money you would save people just don’t see the point until America takes a head first dive into hydrogen and really starts installing pumps.
Nuclear energy is a great source to use in modern day and is made by merging the nuclei of atoms together. The source is very dependable and already been used to power factories all over the world. The reason why this source is so appealing is because it has already proven it can power things and it is limitless. Some people think that it will be the new source in America but others think that hydrogen will also be.
The problem is California took a dive into hydrogen before fully investigating it. California is currently using gasoline and oil to power some of the process in the making of hydrogen which in turn means that they are just as much depending on gasoline as before if we were to go with hydrogen. The shortages would be the same as gasoline because without the factories working then no hydrogen is made. So by going with hydrogen you are going with more gasoline. Nuclear energy is different. It requires less energy to make than it has. Some would speculate that it would be the new fuel source in America in years to come. (West)
Suniva Solar Cells
Suniva is A solar cell company that has devoloped a solar cell that could change solar energy. Solar energy is one of the most popular alternative fuels for buildings and homes. Not for cars and transportation. Suniva's factory is located in Atlanta and is a thriving company.
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