As stated in the Preface, this book makes no attempt to treat energy conservation – this merits a volume of its own. Nevertheless, it would be remiss in looking ahead to 2020 not to mention the role that conservation will play in modifying the demand for energy. There are considerable opportunities for energy savings in […]

In considering ‘global warming’, three facts seem incontrovertible: (i) there are certain gaseous molecules in the atmosphere (including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) that absorb and re-radiate infrared radiation – the greenhouse gases (ii) the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased steadily since the industrial revolution (iii) the mean global temperature […]

Attempting to predict the future is notoriously difficult and anyone who does so is providing a hostage to fortune. In 1965, Penguin Books published The World in 1984, a paperback that was based on a series of articles that had appeared in The New Scientist in 1964. These articles were written by eminent scientists and […]

Fuel cells have been described in outline in Section 8.3, Chapter 8, both in the context of stationary power sources for the distributed generation of electricity and as portable or mobile power sources for applications ranging from advanced cellular phones to electric vehicles. The attractions of fuel cells have been pointed out, as well as […]

There are two basic architectures for ICE-battery hybrid vehicles, namely, ‘series – hybrids’ and ‘parallel-hybrids’. In a series-hybrid (Figure 10.9(a)) the drive is all­electric and a small heat engine serves to recharge the battery that powers the electric motor. When used in a purely EV mode (e. g. in cities, with the engine switched off), […]

Given the demonstrated disadvantages of vehicles that are powered by batteries alone, most of the major automotive companies are actively engaged in the development of ICE-battery HE Vs as more practical alternatives.[22] Conventional ICE Vs are grossly overpowered for steady driving, so as to provide the extra performance necessary for acceleration and climbing gradients. The […]

A novel form of electrathon has been pioneered in Australia. This is a contest for EVs that are powered solely by solar energy. The ‘solar cars’ are necessarily ultra­lightweight and can only be operated effectively in a sunny climate, as exists in central Australia. In 1983, two Australians drove a solar-powered EV across the continent […]

Electric Racing Cars As long ago as the 1890s, in the very early days of the internal-combustion engine, people were driving electric vehicles and soon an interest in racing them developed. At one stage, a French racing car – ‘Jamais Contente’ (Figure 10.7(a)) – held the world land speed record of 105 km h-1. Over […]