[tomshep]

No, they are just capacitors. Calling them by fancy names doesn't change that.
Graphene may be delivering a very marginal improvement but its chief value in these products is in marketing. They would work very nearly as well without it but would not be
so appealing as "Latest cutting edge technology".
The ideal application for graphenes is currently in loudspeaker cable where it will reduce impedance, increase the electron flow and improve both the frequency response and transient intermodulation distortion rejection of the cable.
(All of which is absolutely true but as anybody who knows will tell you, completely irrelevant to anybody but the sales team because there is no noticeable difference.)

[Rob P]

...just like the widespread adoption of electric cars which are also not yet equal to the capabilities of internal combustion powered ones.

Well no. In every respect bar one they are better than ICE powered cars. Faster, safer, quieter, less polluting of towns and cities with noise and emissions, more reliable, require less servicing are warmed or cooled before you climb into them in the morning, never need to visit a refuelling station day to day and can even act as backup power source for your home. How are ICE better? At the moment, when you want to do more than 200 miles at a go, and that is it.

Apologies for perpetuating the thread drift

Rob P

[tomshep]

That is all the time for me and for most. One area where the IC car wins outright is availability of recharging.
Another is availability of people who can mend them.
Until the super battery comes along in another 120 years' time , when it will be just around the corner, the power to weight ratio of hydrocarbons will win out.
Then there are the environmental issues. Move the pollution somewhere else, but you are still using as much energy.
The largest nuclear power station in the world would power a sixth of the British fleet if we went all electric tomorrow.
So we'll need six of them.
That should be easy to nod through the environmental lobby, then.
Oops, no. The Chinese, who will build it will charge a premium on the electricity.
When they find out how much money we shall have to spend to buy it, they will conclude that the economy is simply not big enough to support it.

Not by 2040.

[nallen]

That is all the time for me and for most.

Really, you always drive 200 miles whenever you get in your car? That would suggest you are a statistical outlier.

One area where the IC car wins outright is availability of recharging.

Really, when many people can simply charge at home?

Another is availability of people who can mend them.

True, for now, but there's sod all to fix.

Move the pollution somewhere else, but you are still using as much energy.

Actually, not.

The largest nuclear power station in the world would power a sixth of the British fleet if we went all electric tomorrow. So we'll need six of them.

Quite possibly not. "In one scenario, where 100% of cars go electric but smart charging and shared autonomous vehicles help manage the impact on the grid, peak demand could be limited to around 6 gigawatts (GW) in 2050. This is equivalent to 10% of the current 60GW peak demand on a cold winter’s day." https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-how-much-power-will-uk-electric-vehicles-need

[Highland Park]

Back to the original subject, Lauren Wilson (Richardson) posted recently on instagram that she had been to Hungary to fly the Rotax and electric versions of the Magnus and they were due to feature at some point in Flyer. I guess Ian will be able to tell us, following this tragedy when and if they will be published...

[G-BLEW]

Back to the original subject, Lauren Wilson (Richardson) posted recently on instagram that she had been to Hungary to fly the Rotax and electric versions of the Magnus and they were due to feature at some point in Flyer. I guess Ian will be able to tell us, following this tragedy when and if they will be published...

I wouldn't expect to see it anytime soon, if at all to be honest.

Ian

[Gertie]

That is all the time for me and for most. One area where the IC car wins outright is availability of recharging.

??? - electric, recharging in my driveway. Petrol, have to drive to the garage.

Move the pollution somewhere else, but you are still using as much energy.

This is true, but there are some who claim that moving the pollution from a city centre to somewhere it can be dispersed more easily is a win. Personally I think a better solution to that one would be to refrain from being so daft as to want to drive in a city centre in the first place, but I suppose it would be boring if we were all the same.

And the argument against it "using as much energy" is that when the network gets smart enough cars can be recharged from renewable energy that might otherwise go to waste (eg wind at 4am). (DoI: I currently work for a company that does stuff on the fringes of that business. Not that I actually understand the business model mind, I just do the software.)

[youngman1]

but you are still using as much energy.

Sorry but just simply not true. EV powertrains are significantly more efficient.

Why the negativity? Its almost like you don't want it to work?

Enjoy the benefits that it will bring to us all and embrace the change.

[Genghis the Engineer]

A further problem is the cost of them!

G

[tomshep]

Sorry guys. I'll just have to compliment your Emperor on his dress sense and move on.

[akg1486]

I've been lucky enough to attend some seminars today about environmentally sound aviation in the future. The presenters included Pipistrel, the CEO of Terrafugia (nowadays owned by Geely, Chinas biggest automotive conglomerate), scientists from Chalmes University of Technology in Gothenburg and the sales manager for hybrid aviation at Siemens (via Skype from Munich).

I can't give you a detailed summary, but there seems to be a consensus that in the coming decades we will see small electric aircraft--VTOL or STOL--used for transport of goods and passengers in large urban areas and (later) over short-haul distances. These will look more like drones than aeroplanes. To handle congested traffic there will have to be precision flight paths (GPS) to follow, much like helicopter routes to Wall Street. Eventually, to cope with demand, these "drones" have to become fully automatic and not need pilots. Uber is a big driver in this development.

The scientists' message is that we need to reevaluate what an aircraft is, much like we had to change the perception of transport when horsedrawn carriages were replaced by cars. The development will be driven by need, not to replace our Lycoming engines with electric motors and carry on like before.

One example of new thinking: Terrafugia is working on a "pod", for people or cargo, that can be connected to a truck, taken to an airfield, be transferred in minutes to a flying unit, flown to the next airfield where the process is reversed. Will it happen exactly in this way? Maybe not, but there are many interesting initiatives. According to Siemens, the number of projects in the industry really took off in 2017.

An exciting future, I think, where there's a lot we don't know.

[akg1486]

Just a further comment: no player in the industry is unaware of the problems. But they think there are solutions.

[Full Metal Jackass]

Really, you always drive 200 miles whenever you get in your car? That would suggest you are a statistical outlier.

My normal drive is around 400km a day and it's never the same route. My concerns for electrically powered vehicles would be getting stuck in a traffic jam and being unable to recharge. Worse, it's a hot day and I get sweaty and uncomfortable because I turned the a/c off just to get myself to wherever I need to be....

"In one scenario, where 100% of cars go electric but smart charging and shared autonomous vehicles help manage the impact on the grid, peak demand could be limited to around 6 gigawatts (GW) in 2050. ]

Hmmm. Let me ask you this. Do you want to give up your personal vehicle and rely on having a shared autonomous vehicle waiting for you when you want to go from A to B? In my eyes, this is wish thinking. The bus could be considered a sort of 'autonomous shared vehicle' but if I told you that was the future of transportation, you'd probably laugh. But serious - is a computer driven taxi the future? For people to share vehicles - no, I don't see people swapping personal transportation for a taxi for a number of reasons:

1) The car industry would not accept it. Imagine, for a second, that there were sufficient cars for everyone to share. Who would want a new one? Due to design changes, people buy the latest Golf / E class / Mondeo just to show you're up to date. But if it's a shared car? Car demand would dive especially as reliability would increase (fewer moving parts).

2) Which brings me to the second point: with fewer parts to service, what would car service stations do? More unemployed.

3) If you are in the back of nowhere and want to travel to the other side of the back of nowhere, where is the next 'shared autonomous vehicle' going to be? If it's waiting for you outside, it's not really shared, is it?

I look forward to cars going electric, I had a test drive in a Tesla Model X and was stunned by it's performance; I was also bemused at how a car could be built with motors to open and close doors rather than relying on the owner pulling them closed because motors are weight and they use the battery...

However I believe we will need to increase the infrastructure and power generating capability because sharing is NOT going to work.... IMHO.....

[Rob P]

My normal drive is around 400km a day and it's never the same route.

So, you aren't the target market for EV and you'll be stuck with the shortcomings of ICE for the foreseeable future.

Tough, but there it is.

Rob P

[skydriller]

I think talking about EVs is completely missing the point in this thread.

For certified aviation, the cost of development and certification of new aeroplanes has meant that a major proportion of the aeroplanes being flown around today are 30+ years old. I dont see that changing any time soon.

For the homebuilt/microlight market however I do think that there will be electric powered aeroplanes flying around sooner rather than later.

As far as personal transportation pods are concerned, this has been the holy grail of SciFi for a long long time. I dont expect to see this any more than my parents have - I just dont think the public is ready for it even if the tech is almost there.

Regards, SD..