Recent Comments:
Firefly batteries inching closer to deployment {Autoblog Green}
Jun 11th 2008 7:29PM The batteries were first to be used in electric garden tools, but there no definite word about that either....
Firefly's Oasis Group 31 batteries getting some EV fans excited {Autoblog Green}
Feb 2nd 2008 2:18AM Cycle Life!!! is the major advantage of these batteries. Perhaps slighly lower weight and improved low temperature starting are also available. Standard form factor and AGM construction allows an easy market entrance. I would try to fit one into any vehicle that I had even if it doubled the market value of the vehicle. A specialized DC-DC converter would allow the use of one or more in a Prius to extend the full electric operation range. Each unit has about 1200 watt hours in it or 6 miles according to Calcars and others. Ten would give you 60 miles for 700 pounds. Lighter weight bipolar 150 volt units, like EFFPOWER made and Atraverda threatens to make, could even have less weight. Chemical equations show that the electrolyte takes more than five times the volume of the active lead material all other lead is inefficient heavy conductors. Copper was used in some negative plates a few years back. Bipolar batteries get rid of the need for a lot of conductors and are best employed where high voltages are wanted as in the Prius. Ordinary cars with these batteries could be modified to charge their batteries mostly at home to save gasoline and never on the road except when braking or on very long trips.
Full electric cars should always have at least a small backup gasoline powered generator built into one corner or more with a few gallons of stable Butanol fuel available for emergency use. A 800 watt, one horsepower unit could keep a small car with a large battery rolling in pace with most city traffic. The OPOC can produce 13 HP and weighs only 13 pounds. Some RCV model airplane engines and others can produce nearly a horsepower or more at high speeds. There are some generators that run at 100,000 RPM right now. Refined petroleum liquid products are the lightest weight cheap energy storage system; the cost of producing hydrogen and the weight of the high pressure tanks need to store it and the weight of the fuel cells may be more than some battery systems. The Zebra battery used in the introductory models of the TH!NK car is perfect for a commuter car used every day. The Little Old Lady from Pasadena who drives to church and the store once a week would be well served by Firefly. Go Granny Go!...HG...
Researchers Kill Viruses With Lasers {Switched.com}
Sep 12th 2007 3:52PM It will never be sold because a fan with blades can create the pulsing light from the sun without the need for other light sources. A new cure for the common cold. Get a dialysis shunt installed and run your blood through a solar panel with a fan pulsator. Many years ago a man invented a device containing a lot of photo flash tubes that could remove old paint(no, not the horse) even from fabrics without destroying the fabrics or other surfaces. Then someone else invented a fast meat grill with high intensity light. Shine a flashlight through your fingers to see how it worked. Some people exposeded children to sunlight and other sources of ultra-violet rays to sucessfully prevent vitamin D deficiency effects, including bent leg bones. Almost every bit of food people eat comes from the chemical effects of light and plant substances. Companies in Norway and Great Britain have had commercial production of animal feed from natural gas. US oil companies have experimented with growing microbes on oil as a food source. Corn as an energy source is still cheaper than oil, and can be used directly as food. Light might work for a lot of things..hg...
