"helmsman" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 31 May 2004 08:38:18 +0900, "Brenda Ann Dyer"
wrote:
Please take the time to read this-I watched it and it blew my socks off.
All that is needed is the will.
Scientific American Frontiers (Alan Alda in)
http://www.pbs.org/saf/1403/segments/1403-3.htm
[snip]
At the Challenge Bibendum, Stanford and Iris Ovshinsky tell Alan they have
a solution to
the storage problem--storing hydrogen as a solid.
A decade ago, Stan invented the nickel metal hydride rechargeable battery
used today in
everything from computers to the Toyota Prius. Today, he and Iris show
Alan an example of
their new hydrogen storage device, a proprietary metal alloy that soaks up
hydrogen gas
like a sponge. They claim that the solid can store twice as much hydrogen
as a typical
high-pressure tank. In addition, hydrogen as a solid is more stable than
gas or liquid.
[snip]
"Back when the couple started the company, in 1960, she says, "we went to a
solar energy meeting in Florida, and all they were doing was essentially
using large magnifying glasses to burn wood, showing the power of the sun."
The Ovshinskys had much bigger ideas for alternative energy technology; they
started developing solar cells and storage systems for the electricity
generated."
""In 1960, people wondered what we were doing," she says. "There was no
shortage of energy. But Stan was quite aware that soon there would be
shortage of oil. Another reason we work in this area is that where there's
oil, there always seems to be political conflict. And we are very much for
peace.""
http://www.bu.edu/alumni/bostonia/20...les/energetic/
Despite these questions, Larry Burns of GM feels good about the future of
hydrogen cars.
Borrowing a line from the movie "Field of Dreams," he tells Alan, "If you
build it, they
will come."
Our choices are driven by price. Energy from oil is still cheaper than the
other choices. Cheaper unless we factor in the economic and human costs of
insuring "the free flow of oil at market prices" as Limbaugh calls it.
Frank Dresser