• Question: would there be diffrent tipe of fuel when and if we run out for cars

    Asked by jayb to Upul, Phil, Ian, Derek, Daniel on 18 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Derek Mann

      Derek Mann answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      There is a real concern about us running out of oil or at least it becoming such a scarce resource that the price of petrol for cars becomes too much for most people to afford. There is the development of electric cars and as we get better at converting clean energy (wind, solar, tidal) into electricity then I think the electric car will become the vehicle of choice for the future.

    • Photo: Upul Wijayantha

      Upul Wijayantha answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Fossil fuels running out are a big worry that is why I’m working on solar energy and hydrogen fuel generation. There are at the moment two main oppositions
      Electric cars (like the G-Wiz or the Tesla Roadster) these use batteries that are recharged from your home or a recharging station.
      Hydrogen Fuel cell cars (like the Honda Clarity) this uses Hydrogen gas and reacts it with the Oxygen in the air to generate electricity and water.

    • Photo: Ian Sillett

      Ian Sillett answered on 17 Jun 2010:

      I guess humans are pretty resourceful so we’ll have an alternative when if we run out of oil! If I could tell you what it was then I’d be very rich because everyone is looking for it. At the moment, the best guess is probably hydrogen fuel cells. These are clean and only water comes out of the exhaust pipe. The downside is that it takes a lot of energy to make them.

      The message I suppose is that we need to save oil and not use it all!

    • Photo: Daniel Mietchen

      Daniel Mietchen answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Probably yes, but it must be renewable, possibly generated by algae or bacteria. The way there is a complex mixture of science and engineering, intertwined with economic and political elements.

Comments