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davieG

Technology, Science and the Environment.

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6 hours ago, FIF said:

Can someone with influence please ask Mark to remove my post limit. I've been waiting for hours to reply to the opinions thread and place these articles on here. Please, Pretty please.

 

Could be a game-changer and life saver:

https://www.sciencealert.com/graphene-film-water-filtration-drinkable-seawater

 

 

#freefif

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3 hours ago, leicsmac said:

Some interesting stuff there.

 

I'm gonna stick my neck out and predict that within the next 30 years the vast majority of cars will be self-driving and at least mostly electric-powered.

I sincerely hope so. I think maybe it'll happen before I die.

 

2 hours ago, Suzie the Fox said:

Why do you have a post limit? Is it just you or do others have this ... seems strange? 

I don't know of anyone else only Mark can answer this question.

 

 

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5 hours ago, leicsmac said:

Some interesting stuff there.

 

I'm gonna stick my neck out and predict that within the next 30 years the vast majority of cars will be self-driving and at least mostly electric-powered.

I'm going to stick my neck out even further and say it won't take that long

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18 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

I'm going to stick my neck out even further and say it won't take that long

Did you see the new Tesla on the grand tour the other week? I’ve been sceptical about electric replacing engines but that does look to be a game changer. If the range can cover a full days driving, then it will do it.

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3 minutes ago, Strokes said:

Did you see the new Tesla on the grand tour the other week? I’ve been sceptical about electric replacing engines but that does look to be a game changer. If the range can cover a full days driving, then it will do it.

It's always been about getting performance (in particular range) to match that of the typical petrol engine - once that's there, then it was always going to be just a matter of time, and not much time at that.

 

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1 minute ago, leicsmac said:

It's always been about getting performance (in particular range) to match that of the typical petrol engine - once that's there, then it was always going to be just a matter of time, and not much time at that.

 

Yeah it’s a bit unpractical having to recharge rather than just fill and go. So there will be a culture change and not everyone can charge overnight at home as they might not have driveway space etc. But if you have a 500 mile range that will drive itself, you are saving the time spent charging by effectively being chauffeured. I could get all my paperwork done whilst at work, that would be enough to get me on board. Still a little way to go yet but the piece I watched really impressed me.

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10 minutes ago, Strokes said:

Did you see the new Tesla on the grand tour the other week? I’ve been sceptical about electric replacing engines but that does look to be a game changer. If the range can cover a full days driving, then it will do it.

I didn't - I know someone who's got one of the current ones and he hates it (I think because it doesn't do anything like the claimed range) but the concept is sound. Let's face it, how often is driving actually pleasurable? It would be great to just tune out and let the car drive itself. It'd be better at it as well, I'm sure.

 

Just don't be that guy that got killed in his Tesla while watching Harry Potter on his laptop. What a silly sausage!

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6 minutes ago, Strokes said:

Yeah it’s a bit unpractical having to recharge rather than just fill and go. So there will be a culture change and not everyone can charge overnight at home as they might not have driveway space etc. But if you have a 500 mile range that will drive itself, you are saving the time spent charging by effectively being chauffeured. I could get all my paperwork done whilst at work, that would be enough to get me on board. Still a little way to go yet but the piece I watched really impressed me.

Yeah, that's another factor - charging time. Get that down to anything less than, say, ten minutes, as well as getting that 500 miles range, and that's the game-changing combination IMO - the charging stations will pop up everywhere, as well as being able to do it at home if you have the space.

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2 minutes ago, Bellend Sebastian said:

I didn't - I know someone who's got one of the current ones and he hates it (I think because it doesn't do anything like the claimed range) but the concept is sound. Let's face it, how often is driving actually pleasurable? It would be great to just tune out and let the car drive itself. It'd be better at it as well, I'm sure.

 

Just don't be that guy that got killed in his Tesla while watching Harry Potter on his laptop. What a silly sausage!

I average about 800 miles a week and the roads are shit, I’d be happy for a computer to replace me in that process.

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1 minute ago, leicsmac said:

Yeah, that's another factor - charging time. Get that down to anything less than, say, ten minutes, as well as getting that 500 miles range, and that's the game-changing combination IMO - the charging stations will pop up everywhere, as well as being able to do it at home if you have the space.

They should build the frame out of solar panels to extend the range :D

 

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2 minutes ago, Izzy Muzzett said:

It will become mainstream when electric cars can actually charge on wired-up roads?

 

http://theconversation.com/wired-up-roads-will-soon-charge-your-electric-car-while-youre-driving-72625

Definitely something for the future once they become more widely used IMO.

 

Just now, Strokes said:

They should build the frame out of solar panels to extend the range :D

 

That's a damn good idea, actually. Would be a logical next step, along with the roads idea above.

 

All of these ideas work on the biggest weakness so far - charging in a way that is fast and convenient and so matching a petrol car in terms of journey efficiency. Reading all of this makes me think that BS might be right and it might not even be 30 years before all of this becomes commonplace.

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2 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Definitely something for the future once they become more widely used IMO.

 

That's a damn good idea, actually. Would be a logical next step, along with the roads idea above.

 

All of these ideas work on the biggest weakness so far - charging in a way that is fast and convenient and so matching a petrol car in terms of journey efficiency. Reading all of this makes me think that BS might be right and it might not even be 30 years before all of this becomes commonplace.

You wouldn’t need a radiator for cooling either, bung in a wind turbine and a kinetic energy recovery system and it won’t take much at all.

I’d imagine the reason they haven’t done anything to convert energy yet is weight, they are already massively heavy compared to petrol because of the batteries but if you could have some effective on the go charging you could lose some batteries.

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4 minutes ago, Strokes said:

Did you see the new Tesla on the grand tour the other week? I’ve been sceptical about electric replacing engines but that does look to be a game changer. If the range can cover a full days driving, then it will do it.

 

I'm wondering what's going to happen with bigger transport vehicles?

 

I've been looking at buying a campervan recently but with the uncertainty surrounding diesel engines, it might be something of a white elephant with no resale value.

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1 minute ago, Buce said:

 

I'm wondering what's going to happen with bigger transport vehicles?

 

I've been looking at buying a campervan recently but with the uncertainty surrounding diesel engines, it might be something of a white elephant with no resale value.

I think lorries and plant will be using diesel for a long time to come, just for the amount of energy they use. 

How big of a campervan are you thinking? If you can find a petrol one you can always convert to LPG.

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6 minutes ago, Strokes said:

I think lorries and plant will be using diesel for a long time to come, just for the amount of energy they use. 

How big of a campervan are you thinking? If you can find a petrol one you can always convert to LPG.

 

Something coach built, and I haven't seen a single one that's not diesel.

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Just now, Buce said:

 

Something coach built, and I haven't seen a single one that's not diesel.

You probably won’t because of the weight unfortunately, petrol engines won’t cope with it.

You can find the odd VW transporter type surfbus/campervans In petrol that are either already converted or could be. But would that be too small for you?

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1 hour ago, Strokes said:

You probably won’t because of the weight unfortunately, petrol engines won’t cope with it.

You can find the odd VW transporter type surfbus/campervans In petrol that are either already converted or could be. But would that be too small for you?

 

Yeah, much too small.

 

I was looking at something like this:

 

merc.thumb.jpg.3f41c05cd9a0302d6177d53e3df15841.jpg

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1 minute ago, Strokes said:

If it’s only for occasions could you not hire until the market becomes clearer? I think they are like £50 a day.

 

Yeah, it's an option - I had one in Northern Spain last year but it was more like £100 a day.

 

I just fancied the convenience of having my own - the missus gets long weekends off in her new job.

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5 minutes ago, Buce said:

 

Yeah, it's an option - I had one in Northern Spain last year but it was more like £100 a day.

 

I just fancied the convenience of having my own - the missus gets long weekends off in her new job.

Well the other option is to buy at a price you can afford to lose, the cheaper it is, the less you lose as it depreciates. I don’t think we are close to mass electric switchover in this type of vehicle, and it won’t be quietly done. So I think as long as you keep up to date with what’s new on the market you’ll not lose anymore than you would normally expect.

Just go for it and enjoy yourselves.

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6 minutes ago, Strokes said:

Well the other option is to buy at a price you can afford to lose, the cheaper it is, the less you lose as it depreciates. I don’t think we are close to mass electric switchover in this type of vehicle, and it won’t be quietly done. So I think as long as you keep up to date with what’s new on the market you’ll not lose anymore than you would normally expect.

Just go for it and enjoy yourselves.

 

The main concern on the campervan forums is over the possibility of non-commercial diesels being banned altogether or at least taxed to death. 

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