Teslas and other electric vehicles

[YmoBeThere]

“Breakthroughs” of this type fizzle way more often than not. Commercialization is always a challenge. But this is the way progress is made.

I have personal experience with this. Company I worked for purchased a technology developed at Los Alamos National Labs. Worked great in the lab environment but failed miserably in field testing.

[PackMan97]

Interesting for me as a guy who spent a career at IBM. I recall as a kid the projection that nuclear power would be so cheap as to not require metering

If not for the issue of toxic and radioactive forever waste... I think it could have been.

I am still a big fan. Votgle 3 in Georgia is starting up. First New reactor in 3 decades.

https://www.powermag.com/vogtle-3-reaches-initial-criticality-marking-pivotal-nuclear-startup-milestone/

[Phredd3]

Interesting for me as a guy who spent a career at IBM. I recall as a kid the projection that nuclear power would be so cheap as to not require metering

If not for the issue of toxic and radioactive forever waste... I think it could have been.

Power will never be so cheap as to not require metering. Power is always a net benefit to people who use it, so the cheaper it is to produce, the more we will collectively consume. This is known as the Jevons effect (or the Jevons paradox), and it is a major problem for the environment. If there is a solution to this effect, I haven't heard of it yet.

[camion]

Power will never be so cheap as to not require metering. Power is always a net benefit to people who use it, so the cheaper it is to produce, the more we will collectively consume. This is known as the Jevons effect (or the Jevons paradox), and it is a major problem for the environment. If there is a solution to this effect, I haven't heard of it yet.

There will have been great hope that dilithium crystal technology would provide virtually unlimited power at a cheap price. Unfortunately the technology to reach places where the crystals are plentiful requires dilithium crystals. A classic catch ncc1701.

[Bluedog]

There will have been great hope that dilithium crystal technology would provide virtually unlimited power at a cheap price. Unfortunately the technology to reach places where the crystals are plentiful requires dilithium crystals. A classic catch ncc1701.

Nuclear is basically this. But most places don't want the risk of a nuclear meltdown. Of course, building the plants in the first place is ridiculously expensive, but the energy creation piece is really really cheap. At least, that's what I reported in my 5th grade report on nuclear energy 25 or so years ago... 😀

[-jk]

Nuclear is basically this. But most places don't want the risk of a nuclear meltdown. Of course, building the plants in the first place is ridiculously expensive, but the energy creation piece is really really cheap. At least, that's what I reported in my 5th grade report on nuclear energy 25 or so years ago... 😀

Nuclear waste storage is a big problem, too, alas.

-jk

[mkirsh]

Interesting for me as a guy who spent a career at IBM. I recall as a kid the projection that nuclear power would be so cheap as to not require metering

I saw that as a kid too - personalized nuclear power enough to generate 1.21 gigawatts that was promised (along with flying cars and Cubs world series) by 2015

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[Bluedog]

I saw that as a kid too - personalized nuclear power enough to generate 1.21 gigawatts that was promised (along with flying cars and Cubs world series) by 2015

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That was pretty dang close!

And they had them beating Miami which didn't have a baseball team at the time the movie came out!

[budwom]

If not for the issue of toxic and radioactive forever waste... I think it could have been.

I am still a big fan. Votgle 3 in Georgia is starting up. First New reactor in 3 decades.

https://www.powermag.com/vogtle-3-re...tup-milestone/

I definitely agree nuclear has a role to play. Hopefully some of the newer designs work out well, it’s still TBD.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

If not for the issue of toxic and radioactive forever waste... I think it could have been.

I am still a big fan. Votgle 3 in Georgia is starting up. First New reactor in 3 decades.

https://www.powermag.com/vogtle-3-reaches-initial-criticality-marking-pivotal-nuclear-startup-milestone/

Vogtle 3 has been an absolute nightmare with cost over runs, delays, major bankruptcies, etc. And the one in SC has also been a mess.

[OldPhiKap]

I saw that as a kid too - personalized nuclear power enough to generate 1.21 gigawatts that was promised (along with flying cars and Cubs world series) by 2015

il_570xN.2641547579_rgu5.jpg

I just picked up a flux capacitor at O’Reilly Auto Parts. Not sure if they sold out yet though.

https://www.oreillyauto.com/flux-capacitor

[Skydog]

Vogtle 3 has been an absolute nightmare with cost over runs, delays, major bankruptcies, etc. And the one in SC has also been a mess.

It is weird that building nuclear power plants has gotten harder over passing decades, instead of easier. I guess increasing regulation due to safety concerns is a major reason, but it seems to be orders of magnitude harder and more expensive.

The one advantage of not building nuclear is that it has forced utilities to embrace energy efficiency. If we had readily available nuclear my power company wouldn't be sending me free LED lights on a regular basis.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

It is weird that building nuclear power plants has gotten harder over passing decades, instead of easier. I guess increasing regulation due to safety concerns is a major reason, but it seems to be orders of magnitude harder and more expensive.

The one advantage of not building nuclear is that it has forced utilities to embrace energy efficiency. If we had readily available nuclear my power company wouldn't be sending me free LED lights on a regular basis.

It is amazing that we built so many mega projects relatively easily in the past when the technology was so much simpler and now it is much more complicated and expensive to get things done.

I was just reading an article about how much more it costs to build additions to the NY subway compared to comparable projects elsewhere. I am very indirectly working on something related to the Gateway tunnel project here and it is unbelievable.

Placing blame for that will quickly drift into PPB territory…

[Bluedog]

It is amazing that we built so many mega projects relatively easily in the past when the technology was so much simpler and now it is much more complicated and expensive to get things done.

I was just reading an article about how much more it costs to build additions to the NY subway compared to comparable projects elsewhere. I am very indirectly working on something related to the Gateway tunnel project here and it is unbelievable.

Placing blame for that will quickly drift into PPB territory…

Yep...I'll still provide a link for those that want to learn more.
https://www.curbed.com/2023/02/nyc-s...t-goldwyn.html

In this century, New York has added two tunnel extensions and four stations: one on the westward extension of the 7 line and three on upper Second Avenue. The latter had been on the planning boards since 1919. We spent $1.5 billion per mile for it. Berlin and Paris pay about a sixth as much for more ambitious projects. Paris, in particular, is in the middle of a 120-mile, 68-station subway-and-commuter-rail project that is known for its overruns and budget excesses, and its costs are still nothing remotely close to New York’s.

$1.5 BILLION per MILE. Wowza...

[burnspbesq]

Tesla could never play for Coach Danowski, because it’s weak on fundamentals—like, apparently, correctly attaching the steering wheel.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/8/23...-nhtsa-model-y

[Skydog]

Tesla could never play for Coach Danowski, because it’s weak on fundamentals—like, apparently, correctly attaching the steering wheel.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/8/23...-nhtsa-model-y

You clearly an Elon hater with this nitpicking. Who needs a steering wheel anyway?

[OldPhiKap]

You clearly an Elon hater with this nitpicking. Who needs a steering wheel anyway?

Taoists don’t need steering wheels.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

You clearly an Elon hater with this nitpicking. Who needs a steering wheel anyway?

Self driving cars don’t need steering wheels? Though to mix my metaphors, I think they are putting the cart before the horse on that one…

[niveklaen]

Back in 1974 or 1975, my uncle, who was named inventor of the year at IBM twice during his career, built a vehicle with four highly efficient electric motors, one in each wheel, and a small gas engine, and demonstrated 376 mpg.

He then tried to get companies interested in his idea but was stonewalled at every turn. His impression was that there was too much money to be made in oil and gas, and that people were much more interested in protecting their assets than they were in protecting the planet.

He was a true visionary. I'm sure hemis delighted looking down and seeing that the rest of the world is just now, almost 50 years later, finally beginning to turn toward his vision.

He should have gone to Japanese firms. That have no carbon assets to protect and would have had every reason to find alternatives to oil/gas. Same with BMW, Mercedes, and VW - Germany has no carbon assets either. Really the only auto manufacturers in the world to be based in a petrol state are the american ones.

[throatybeard]

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