Picture a time in the
near future where there are no cars, no boats, no planes, no anything. A barren
wasteland with no means of transportation, other than horse, and what little
fossil fuels are left, is fought over by road gangs and a road warrior. With no
trucks, shipping food and other essential goods is nearly impossible. The
survival rate for everyone drops to zero. This could be the world of tomorrow
if America can not find an alternative for fossil fuels. Electric vehicles have
helped the problem but with a low life battery, they will be short lived. Is
there a future for batteries in electric vehicles?
One major way to create a meaningful future for electric
cars, and their batteries, is to make them available to the mass public. The
problem with today’s electric cars is that the batteries that are used are very
expensive because they are not widely made and most batteries are made outside
the states. Kevin explains, in his article titled “Building Batteries for
Electric Cars”, “Just a few years ago American businesses could only make 2 percent
of the world’s advanced batteries for hybrids and electric vehicles—just 2 percent”
(80). This shows that if there was an
increase of battery production in the United States then the electric car can
become popular.
The
negative popularly can be supported through my observation. The observation
took place on Wednesday March 21on the East side of Tucson, Arizona from 4pm to
6pm in three large parking lots; Wal-Mart, Target, and K-mart. The results show
that Wal-Mart, on 7150 East Speedway Boulevard, had 78
cars in the parking lot with only two cars being electric and 76 being normal
gasoline powered cars. Target, on 9615 East Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, AZ 85748,
had no electric cars and 56 normal cars. The third and final parking lot, K-mart
at 7055
E Broadway Blvd, only had one electric car and 44 normal cars.
The Tesla Roadster, selling for $92000, usage an outlet
for recharging and it can run up to 250 miles before needing a recharge. It is
also a sports car and rockets from 0 to 60 mph in about 4 seconds (Tuite). That's
a huge advance over earlier modes of electric cars because it has newer li ion
batteries and can be charged from home. This is the future for electric cars
and their batteries. If this does not work then the hope for a positive future with
cars will be thrown into the dark ages.
Works
Cited
Bullis, Kevin.
"Building Batteries For Electric Cars." Technology Review 114.2
(2011): 80. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.
Dllow, Clay. "New
Li-ion Battery Design Boosts Energy Capacity and Charge Rate 10-Fold."
Popular Science. Popular Science. Web. 02 Apr. 2012.
Hewitt, Ben. "THE
110-VOLT SOLUTION. (Cover Story)." Popular Mechanics 184.5 (2007): 64-144.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Apr. 2012.
The Professor. Personal
interview. 20 March 2012.
Tuite, Don. "Racing Against Time To Charge The Family
Car." Electronic Design 59.8 (2011): 52. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.
Interview Transcript
What are the type of batteries that are used today?
Lithium-ion batteries
Is there any development in electric cars today?
Lots, the most promising from what I can find are the li-ion batteries
What is the battery life of today’s battery?
What are the type of batteries that are used today?
Lithium-ion batteries
Is there any development in electric cars today?
Lots, the most promising from what I can find are the li-ion batteries
What is the battery life of today’s battery?
around ten years; if the owner use long low
voltage charging and it can be different if they use higher voltage
What do future batteries hope to have for a life
span?
research has shown that if taken care of could be up to 50 years
How long does it take to charge today’s batteries for electric cars?
research has shown that if taken care of could be up to 50 years
How long does it take to charge today’s batteries for electric cars?
Every electric car is different, but on a normal
120 voltage (household outlet) it can take around 10-15 hours, if the voltage
goes up the time goes down
Why do you feel that electric cars are
returning?
They died during the late 80’s because of big
name oil, but because of the energy crisis they are returning because we need
to stop using gas.
What do future batteries hope to have for a recharge
rate?
Like I said before li-ion batteries are the way
to go, it’s said they could recharge up to ten times faster
What is the cost for the batteries for electric
cars?
Once again it depends on the car and its
manufacturer; some, from what i have seen, can go from 6,000 to 10,000 dollars.
Is there a future for electric cars?
For right now, yes because biofuels are nice but
the mpg you would get for it would not outweigh the cost, or until research
finds something more its only way we can go
Observation
The observation took place on wednesday March 21
from 4pm to 6pm in three large parking lots; walmart, target, and kmart. The
results show that walmart had 78 cars in the parking lot with only two cars
being electric and 76 being normal gasoline powered cars. Target had no
electric cars and 56 normal cars. The third and final parking lot, kmart, only
had one electric cars and 44 normal cars.