Quote:
Originally Posted by nomadking
Advances in computing and electronic devices are very different, in that they don't have to do much physical work. Where physical work was involved, advances meant less physical work was required to achieve the same result, eg HDDs vs SSDs.
Propelling a vehicle for 100 miles with a family, coping with difficult terrain eg hills, difficult weather conditions eg snow, and possibly towing a caravan requires physical work, no matter what the propulsion system. There is absolutely no way around that. The amount of energy required to be transferred and stored in a battery is huge. The nearest thing would be a battery you could top up with pre-charged liquid. Not sure how safe that liquid would be to handle. It would be more "volatile" than petrol.
The energy in petrol was locked in millions of years ago. Having to "generate" that amount of energy each day and having to distribute it down power lines is pretty much a non-starter. Then you've got to replace current gas usage.
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Generating methane from renewable energy would be a better solution to the problem. I realise it's not ideal as the process is inefficient and the renewable energy would be better spent running a turbine. But when you think, renewable energy can't be stored for a sufficient length of time. A methane based approach doesn't appear so far fetched. It also has the added bonus of creating an energy dense fuel we're already familiar with.