On 5/18/2016 2:37 PM, dsi1 wrote:
> On 5/18/2016 9:12 AM, Orographic wrote:
>> On 5/18/2016 12:33 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>> On Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 4:41:03 AM UTC-10, Orographic wrote:
>>>> On 5/17/2016 4:50 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>>>> On Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 8:57:28 AM UTC-10, Orographic wrote:
>>>>>> On 5/17/2016 12:49 PM, dsi1 wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I used to have a Mazda GLC but I don't talk about that much. It
>>>>>>> was a
>>>>>>> goofy burnt orange - it looked like a pumpkin. I was following a
>>>>>>> lady in
>>>>>>> a RX7 through a yellow light. Everything was going great until she
>>>>>>> decided she was gonna bail and brake. What was evident was that a
>>>>>>> RX7
>>>>>>> had better braking than their GLC. I ended up diagonally in the next
>>>>>>> lane alongside of her. She was mouthing "I'm sorry" through her
>>>>>>> window.
>>>>>>> I was flabbergasted and shook up but that was a very good lesson in
>>>>>>> driving. 
>>>>>>
>>>>>> OMG moment for sure.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> But that said, it really was a "great little car" and all things
>>>>>> being
>>>>>> equal would you rather have been in a Hornet?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://nozama.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54...a86d970b-400wi
>>>>>
>>>>> Well everything worked and it wasn't all rusted to hell like a lot
>>>>> of the cars I had. It was a solid, dependable, car. It didn't have
>>>>> the upmarket feel and zip of the RX2/3 cars, although it had a most
>>>>> remarkable tartan seat upholstery.
>>>>>
>>>>> I did have to change the clutch on this big pumpkin. I don't recall
>>>>> how I did it but it was probably really easy since it was rear wheel
>>>>> drive. I wanted my friend to learn how to drive standard since it
>>>>> had a new clutch. I told him it was his big chance since I didn't
>>>>> care if he beat the shit out of the clutch. He was driving a Karman
>>>>> Ghia with a semi-auto which was a shame. Beats the hell out of me
>>>>> why somebody would refuse when such an opportunity just falls on
>>>>> your lap.
>>>>>
>>>> I bet that fear of embarrassment was the reason.
>>>>
>>>> Clutch learning has made a mess out of even strong men.
>>>
>>> With the advent of the electric car, clutches will be a thing of the
>>> past. That's fine with me.
>>
>> Except for heavy trucks where you still have to double clutch.
>>
>> They seem to have made some strides lately in automatics that will take
>> the hard work, so maybe that changes too.
>>
>> https://www.freightlinertrucks.com/T...Transmissions/
>
> Interesting stuff. Will there be electric trucks hauling loads across
> the country? Beats me.
It would be unlikely as weight would eat batteries alive, even the newer
ones.
But battery tech is improving:
http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2014/10/16...ion-batteries/
Lithium (Li)-ion batteries serve us well, powering our laptops, tablets,
cell phones and a host of other gadgets and devices. However, for future
automotive applications, we will need rechargeable batteries with
significant increases in energy density, reductions in cost and
improvements in safety. Hence the big push in the battery industry to
develop an alternative to the Li-ion technology.
One promising alternative would be a battery based on a multivalent ion,
such as magnesium (Mg). Whereas a Li-ion with a charge of +1 provides
only a single electron for an electrical current, a Mg-ion has a charge
of +2, which means Mg-ions, in principle, can provide twice the
electrical current of Li-ions if present with the same density. Mg-ion
batteries would also be safer and less expensive than Li-ion batteries.
However, the additional charge on a multivalent ion creates other
problems that have hampered the development of Mg-ion batteries. This
situation may soon change thanks to new findings from the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE)s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(Berkeley Lab) as part of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research
(JCESR), a DOE Energy Innovation Hub.
David Prendergast and Liwen Wan, scientists working in the Theory of
Nanostructured Materials group at the Molecular Foundry, a DOE
nanoscience research facility hosted by Berkeley Lab, ran a series of
computer simulations that dispelled a long-standing misconception about
Mg-ions in the electrolyte that transports the ions between a batterys
electrodes.
The catch for multivalent ions is that their increased charge draws
more attention to them they become surrounded in the batterys
electrolyte by other oppositely charged ions and solvent molecules
which can slow down their motion and create energetic penalties to
exiting the electrolyte for the electrodes, says Prendergast. However,
we found the problem may be less dire than is widely believed.
>>
>>> Replacing a clutch on a car is kind of a drag. Come to think of it,
>>> driving will be a thing of the past too. That's great because I like
>>> to snooze and that's not a good idea when driving.
>>
>>
>> Yes, that'll get you in the permanent land of nod...
>>
>
> There's a stretch of road on Kalanianaole hwy along Bellows beach that
> makes me very sleepy. This is traveling NW on the the highway. I feel
> fine going into the area but a mile later, I can barely keep my eyes
> open. It's a strange natural phenomenon. The next time I go that way,
> I'll have my wife drive so I can take a nap.
That sounds to me like an energy vortex.
I suspect that there is some sort of ionic concentration - likely positive?
I've got a rural road I used to drive along the southern border where
the same thing happened, always in one specific stretch - then as I hit
town it lifts.
It's been bad enough that would I crank the music and drop the windows.
> My guess is that there are other people out there that have a similar
> experience with the roads they travel. My guess is we can induce sleep
> in people by getting a handle on what's happening.
I do not doubt it.