Greased Lightning

Since the first days of Henry Ford's Model T Americans have had a love affair with their cars. After our home they are the biggest ticket item in our budget. We have sung songs in their honor and they have starred in our movies. They are an expression of who we are. Recently my readers, you know who you are, expressed an interest in discussing the future of electric vehicles (EV's). So I have done some research and have found a few things that may be of interest and pertinent to some of the issues raised, such as battery operation.

This first video is a nice overview of how an electric car, specifically the Tesla Model S, works.

Obviously the battery in the Tesla does not lend itself to convenient swapping, so in this case the recharge is critical. In this video the various options are discussed.

As you no doubt noticed the time needed to recharge the battery is rather, well, long. At least compared to simply filling up your tank with gas. There is also the fact that the charge doesn't last for a lengthy road trip, meaning you will need to stop and recharge, adding more time to the trip. You will also note that there is the issue of making sure the battery doesn't get too hot.

In this video that lengthy charge time is addressed.

Hmm...yes, there do seem to be some issues with trying to lower the charge time. That brings us back to swapping out the battery at a charging/swapping station. Apparently that is not impossible as it was tried in Israel, according to this article.

What happened to swappable batteries

I noticed that within that article there is a link to another about charging highways. That is, creating the infrastructure within the highway itself to recharge the battery as you drive. But, like other options, there are drawbacks. Not least of which is how a pacemaker would react to the magnetic charge.

One thing that the author of the article mentioned in the last paragraph was about watching what India and China do. I found that interesting because it does seem that in the case of EV's the leaders will not be in the United States.

Whatever happens in the future may depend upon whether or not EV's can find a place in the hearts of those who have always just loved to drive, as far or as fast as they can.

Or maybe as creatively as they can.  This movie had some serious driving in it!

Voices from the Dark

For the past few weeks we have been seeing missiles flying from North Korea in some kind of desperate attempt at intimidation.  The Trump administration has responded with an escalation of provocative rhetoric.  So what are we to make of this?  Are we on the verge of war because of the impulsive acts of two leaders who are intemperate in nature?  How do North Koreans see the situation?  How do they see us?

This is a video of interviews with three men who grew up in North Korea and are now living outside their home country.  While it does not go into their personal journeys, it does give us a little insight into the people of North Korea, and their perceptions of America.  Considering recent events with that country I thought it might be of interest.