HISTORY CATCHES UP WITH PLUG-IN CARS
The first electric cars weren't 'manly' enough
Scott Tong, October 7, 2014 (American Public Media Marketplace)
“…[H]umans have gone through several so-called ‘energy transitions.’ Each step up has involved a superior product in terms of energy density – in other words, concentrated energy in smaller and smaller packages…[Peat lost to coal because it] doesn't burn as long or as hot…[Oil] offered a higher energy payload for its size and weight…Because of carbon pollution, of course, some car drivers [are now] driving on electric batteries, which by energy density, are an inferior product. But history shows technology doesn't always equal destiny…[At the] Old Car Festival at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan…[there is] a 1902 car that runs on steam…[W]hy did electric vehicles lose out a century ago?...Electrics were thought to be the ideal 'women's car'…You don't have to crank it, so it doesn't require as much physical strength to get it running and operating...[They don't emit] fumes or exhaust…[C]onsumers back then didn't want that. They wanted a messy adventure machine…[Culture is] an important wild-card in technology history…[Now] people are placing new bets on rival fuels. And energy density may not necessarily be the deciding factor this time…” click here for more
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