The Fuel of the Future

Is hydrogen the fuel of the future? You have heard this before. Fuel cells to power cars, but this is not that. Forget about everything you thought you knew about hydrogen. With the advent of battery packs for the grid, hydrogen is new again and becomes a potential integral piece of the renewable energy schema. This is a crazy idea.

The production of hydrogen can be not as expensive as it has been. We now have the ability to make localized solar-based power stations to create hydrogen by electrolysis anywhere there's a good water source and abundant sunlight. With the use of a solar farm and battery-based energy storage, a hydrogen electrolysis plant can operate day and night unabated. The US Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has a webpage on electrolysis which you can find here.

How to use hydrogen? We can use hydrogen to fuel craft that cannot resupply electrical power due to long-range or excess weight. Aircraft can be designed to use hydrogen as fuel. ZeroAvia is a company that seeks to make planes that run on hydrogen. A very informative Royal Aeronautical Society article on them is here. Electric cargo ships can be powered by hydrogen fuel cells (article). Rockets can use hydrogen as a fuel directly for their first stages. Very few rockets have ever done this. Hydrogen has often been reserved for upper stages. Using it for the first stage would be environmentally sound. The Space Launch System will use liquid hydrogen in its core stage, but that stage is arguably not its first stage because of the solid rocket boosters (NASA SLS core stage page).

What about safety in using hydrogen? Ever since the Hindenburg accident, hydrogen has been suspect as an explosive material. Hydrogen is a gas at room temperature. As such, it behaves vastly different than gasoline which we are all used to. Some safety videos demonstrate this (video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA8dNFiVaF0 ). There are several safety considerations to consider when dealing with hydrogen. It is often stored in liquid form, so frostbite is an issue. It is a gas, so suffocation in confined places is an issue. It is a light gas so it tends to rise and pool on ceilings. It is combustible, so it will instantly burn as it mixes with the oxygen in the air when sparked. Here is a full safety report made by Lockheed Martin for the state of Idaho. These issues can be mitigated once understood. We shouldn’t be scared by the calamity of Hindenberg to enjoy the benefits of hydrogen.

So how does hydrogen fit with renewables? Much like a battery, it's an energy transfer device but weighs less and takes up more volume. This is why it is a good thing for flying vehicles and ships in the high seas. We make hydrogen from water using electrolysis and solar energy. Then the vehicles, airplanes and/or ships, use them at a later time and turning the hydrogen back into water as they travel. It’s clean and environmentally friendly. In fact, it is the only environmentally friendly fuel out there. All the other fuels emit carbon dioxide. Hydrogen is the only one that does not. Sure, traditionally the production of hydrogen has been dirty. We need to change that. We need to make the production of hydrogen strictly via electrolysis and off the grid by renewable energy.

So hydrogen is the fuel of the future when you consider that it works with solar power to transfer energy to vehicles such as airliners and cargo ships. Sure there are a lot of technologies yet to be developed and business plans and financial models to be made. There is also a lot of groundwork also played down and a foundation to build on. We can do this and get rid of fossil fuels.

Comparing Corona-virus Shutdown to Fiction

St Louis County is scheduled to open back up from shutting down due to the pandemic crisis on May 18th. We all can't wait as you can imagine. Of course, the expected rules of social distancing and wearing masks at business locations will be in place, presumably. It seems like we have made through the worst of it, and there has been plenty of loss. In fiction, there are plenty of stories dealing with pandemics, epidemics, and just biological or germ fighting. Did those stories get it right? Do they give the right vibe? In the following paragraphs, I compare the movie I am Legend with our 2020 Coronavirus experience.

The other day, I watched I am Legend. It was a remake film based on a novel of the same title. In fact, there were two films before it with the same storyline. The infected became zombie-like characters. They wanted to kill the protagonist outright. The protagonist was immune to the pathogen that infected the world and was trying to find a cure.

This story didn't show any social distancing as the non-infected characters we're not concerned about getting the pathogen from each other but only from the zombies. Sure, social distancing was not a thing when it was made nor when the book was written you might say. I would argue it always has been a human reaction to any sick person to distance yourself from them. So, it wouldn't be a stretch to have the characters practice social distancing.

They didn't wear masks. From the story, you understood that the pathogen was airborne but when two people showed up to help the protagonist, no attempt was made to have them wear surgical masks. In fact, that is true in most movies, even ones involving diseases. I guess you have to see their faces at all times.

The characters didn't suffer present financial loss because they literally had the world at their disposal. They could take whatever they wanted. There was nobody around to stop them during the day since the zombies shunned the light. You might argue that the population might have suffered financial loss beforehand. While that is possible, we have no inkling of this occurring.

There was a sense of loss. This was right, and it rang true. The sense of thousands of people dying from the pandemic stung hard for me. In the story, we can immediately see the devastation and loneliness although it was in the past. In real life, we have yet to realize it in its full form. When we get back to opening up, then we will see. We will see whom we miss. Whom we have lost. We will also see what we have lost, in terms of business and jobs. This is very much our present and near future.

The sense of fear was real. For some people, you could call it dread. I know and we may all know someone who has died or has lost someone to COVID-19. Then the fear comes that says, "When is it my turn? When am I going to lose my breath? When am I going to choke? When is this disease going to take me?" That's in the back of the minds of many of us for one reason or another. That's fear talking. Fear never did anybody any good. Don't listen to it, but hang in there and keep your social distance. The movie embodies the fear in the zombies. We do not have the luxury of seeing the cause of fear.

What do you think? Did fiction get it right, or could it learn a thing or two with this pandemic crisis? I think it got down the sense of loss and majored in the fear. Then it ignored the social distancing and wearing masks. It also tends to gloss over the financial loss. What Stokes me is that these things don't happen all at 100% in a real pandemic. People get the disease, some businesses close but some remain. Some people lose their jobs but not all. Some people pass away but not all. While in fiction these things seem to happen more closer to 100%.

I think it's important to note that the responsibility response to this pandemic has been unique. Never before have we applied social distancing on such a grand scale. Never before have we shut down society worldwide. Never before have we recommended the use of facemasks for the health of the population worldwide.

Pandemic War

Yesterday, I heard a reporter interview a doctor on the current pandemic. The issue came up about calling it a war. The doctor made the argument that war should be reserved for a "war-time effort" and not in "peacetime" because it diminishes the effort of the troops. Instead, the doctor went on, that we should call it a struggle or something of that nature.

Hogwash! I get why this doctor was confused. It's hard to see the forest because of the trees. It's hard to see the war when you're so busy fighting day in and day out. 

This is a war. Here's why:

1. It's a prolonged fight.
2. We're fighting an enemy.
3. Everyone is fighting. Not just doctors. Everyone has to take measures: 
1. wash hands to kill the enemy. 
2. Clean surfaces to kill the enemy. 
3. Keep your distance to not give the enemy a chance.
4. Thousands of people are dying.
5. Local, state, and national resources are allocated.
1. Stimulus Bill
2. Allocate PPE
3. Allocate repirators
6. The population is sheltering. 
7. Population is suffering.
1. Deaths
2. Job losses
3. Lack of material needs (toilet paper and such)

You may say this is peacetime. There's no bullets flying. Look outside. Does it look like peacetime to you? It doesn't to me. When nobody is on the streets. When nobody can get together. When we have to stay indoors for fear of our lives, that's not peace. That's wartime. 

Sure it may not be a war against people but against a bug, but it's still a war. Call it a medical war if it helps you. To say this is not a war is only fooling yourself, but you're not fooling me. That's my opinion.

EV trailers

Some time ago, I viewed videos on how electric pickup trucks were no good where it came to practical trailer towing. The argument wasn't that they didn't have the might to tow trailers, but that the battery capacity to tow over several hours just wasn't in them. I realized that electric vehicles (EVs) have different constraints and variables than interior combustion engine vehicles (ICE). So, should an EV tow an ICE trailer, or should we develop EV Trailers tailored for EV cars and trucks? Let's explore this crazy idea, shall we?

Traditional trailers usually consist of a frame, wheels, brake lights and running lights and a hitch to connect to the car or truck at the bare minimum. Larger trailers also include an electric braking system that you have to connect to your towing vehicle. That system usually uses a 12-volt battery. Campers have their own batteries as well along with other possible systems for the kitchen like a natural gas stove. On my old family farm, we used to have a dumping trailer that not only had a brake system but would dump its load using an electric motor like a dump truck. Batteries on trailers are nothing new.

Let’s talk connectors. People who are accustom to hitching trailers are no strangers to also connecting electric wires together between the trailer and the towing vehicle. They’re always needed whether you’re charging the battery in the trailer or you just need them for the brake light and signals. Upgrading these connectors to what is needed for EV battery charging between the trailer and the towing vehicle should be a straight-forward process from the driver’s point of view. So this is a no brainer and nothing to worry about.

The range is the big thing. What does it look like when and EV pulls an ICE trailer? I pulled some data from the web on probably the most talked about EV on the market, Tesla Model 3. Sure, this data is rough and my calculations are rough because I don’t have all the variables, but the results serve the purpose of this post. Tesla 3 has about 26 kilowatts per hour for 100 miles. It also weighs about 3777.5 lbs. A small trailer camper weighs about 2000 lbs and then you have to add 1000 lbs for gear. That’s 3000 lbs it has to pull. Assuming it can pull it, I hope so, the range drops by 55%. Wow! I see what people are talking about when it comes to EVs not pulling their weight.

So, what happens when you add a battery pack in the trailer camper? You still have the car’s 26 kilowatts per hour for 100 miles power and you add another 26 kilowatts per hour for 100 miles. You double your power capacity. On the downside, you add weight as well. You add 1054 lbs to your trailer camper weight to bring it to 4054 lbs. Remarkably, my calculations show you have 96% of your range than driving without the trailer. That’s only a 4% drop. This is totally doable.

Are EV trailers in the future? It would seem to make sense. Like I said my numbers and calculations were rough. I just did a simple ratio of kWh and weight. What will a real-world test show? Who knows. I don’t think anyone has done it, at least not with a full-size trailer. EV technology is so different than ICE tech. It’s not very intuitive at all, and I think it’s because we’re not used to it. I mean there’s not equivalent to carrying an extra gas can in the EV world.

Now, does it make sense for car manufacturers to make EV trailers and campers? Maybe or maybe not. Maybe there’s a business model for the smaller companies to cash in on a market here if they can buy battery packs form companies like Tesla.

So, as I wrote this I got thinking that maybe someone already tried this. Sure enough, someone did. Check this video out from Rich Rebuilds on Youtube:

By the way, I'm liking Rich Rebuilds videos. His work is really neat and his take on Tesla is unique.

So, I hope this was thought provoking. This was a crazy idea I had and I come up with them from time to time. If you want to run with this idea give me an email. Thanks for the read.

Possible Cause of Autism

Could Asperger's be caused by cities? It's a weird question. I know, but hear me out. One of the biggest mantras of the autism spectrum is sensory issues. Light, noises, smells, and even touch become sources of discomfort and/or pain. It's so bad that many people with autism want to hide away in a darkened quiet room away from everyone for a while to get some rest/relief.

Courtesy NASA

I consider myself to be a high functioning autistic though I'm not diagnosed. I also love history and science though I never exceeded a bachelor's. So this is my first post on this blog which is about some crazy thoughts I have spent time obsessing.

So what do cities have to do with this? People have been living in cities for millennia. That's true. Just over 100 years ago, western civilizations went into an activity that created jobs and made millionaires. It was called the industrial revolution. With it came noises, chemical smells, rough textures, long hours of work, and electrical lighting. Street lamps could stay on 24 hours a day. Then World War I happened and World War II also. After that, more industry, noise, gas, lights, and modern living to include the suburb. 

Have you ever seen the stars at night? You think you have. But go out 50 miles away from any city like the middle of Nebraska, Kansas, or Wyoming. At 2 am in the morning with all lights out, look up at the sky on a clear day. You will be amazed at what you've been missing all your life. Most of us live in a suburb, town, or city and cannot see all the stars because the lights obscure our vision. We've been living with these lights for over 100 years and we’ve never come to realize what we’ve been missing. What has it done to our brains? What about the noise? Urban life and industry have much louder noise than in the forest where we evolved and the farm where we planted seeds by hand for centuries. What has all that noise done to our brains over the generations in a hundred years?

I was born in the late 1960s. My great grandmother was born just before 1900. That's 4 generations going through this light, noise, and smells over just 60 years. Could evolution have kicked in and the autistic brain be a response to the light, noise, smells, and whatnot from the industrial revolution onward? Could the industrial revolution just be one of the causes of autism while there are other earlier causes? Could none of these be the cause of autism after all? I don't know. I do find it interesting that the sensory issues with autism and the problems with city life pair together remarkably well.

Of course, autism is more than just sensory issues. There are social issues, cognitive issues, and many others. I just took sensory issues as an example. In the National Institute of Mental Health website, it states:

“While scientists don’t know the exact causes of ASD, research suggests that genes can act together with influences from the environment to affect development in ways that lead to ASD.”

You be the judge.