[ExI] How the world collapses

[spike]

-----Original Message-----
From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org
[mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of BillK
Sent: Sunday, May 18, 2014 12:55 PM
To: ExI chat list
Subject: Re: [ExI] How the world collapses

On Sun, May 18, 2014 at 3:31 PM, spike wrote:
>>... Ja.  You give up some of your peak acceleration, resulting in a huge 
> weight reduction of the vehicle.


>...Re John's giant car rooftop solar panels, there is a crowdfunding
proposal to lay solar panels on every road surface in America. So no need
for car roof panels.

<http://www.businessinsider.com/solar-roadways-profile-2014-5>

What am I missing here?  There is no need to generate the power right there,
either on the conveyance or beside the road.  The technology to haul energy
around is well-known.  Long chain hydrocarbons are great for that purpose.
You don't really need all that much battery power on board if you have a
mere 10kg of hydrocarbon fuel and perhaps 40 kg of IC-based conversion to
DC.  Then a 100kg of electrical energy storage is enough and a couple
hundred kg of frame and chassis (assuming only one seat and an admittedly
leisurely acceleration capability) and we are ready to motor.  Right now we
don't even have something like that as a market choice.  We should.

>...(I bet a friend of Obama gets that government contract!)...BillK
_______________________________________________

BillK, we will pardon your unawareness of this, being a subject of Her
Majesty and far from the scene of the crime, but on the contrary sir.  After
our recent bitter experience with one of Obama's friends getting a huge
contract to build the ObamaCare website and failing most spectacularly, I
don't expect any of his friends to be getting any high-visibility contracts
any time soon.

Spike