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Internal combustion engines are much less efficient than electric motors and batteries. There is loss in transmission lines and electrical storage is a real problem compared to hydro or carbon based fuels.
If you have an efficient turbine generating power at peak performance I would think that the overall efficiency is a win for electric cars.
Now, if you consider the entire life cycle of all the components and the production, I don't know. Batteries are expensive to produce, but then again, so are engine motors and transmissions.
Would be great to see the math on that. Not sure where to even get the data to start, though.
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300 Mw according to Wikipedia.
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Slacker007 wrote: Musk is off his rocker on this one, for sure.
Yes, I agree. But he's not wrong. It does use a huge amount of energy. In Iceland, Bitcoin Mining is using as much energy as the country's entire population. That also seems like complete madness. 
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In Iceland, it's all renewable, isn't it?
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5teveH wrote: The guy is a con-artist.
But one who eventually delivers.
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Monorail, MONOrail, MONORAIL! 
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Gerry Schmitz wrote: he just found out mining uses a lot of energy
He said, Quote: "We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions of any fuel,"
He didn't say he just found out. You need to get over your obsession with this guy.
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yes Musk is a weasel and in general a blow hard. As for him delivering. I am not 100% sure on that. But he does recruit and reward good talent and he does a good job at being visionary.
Bitcoin - yes we have always known that.
Solar - Solar cells like any product weren't that good when first produced. They were expensive and the return was less than 8% or so. Now though. The manufacturing process has been improved a great deal. And also the efficiency has improved drastically. nearly 50% in some cases. So I am not sure that can be much of an argument.
But the comments about the rare earth metals and other important elements for producing everything we use. That is huge. Seriously huge. We are seeing this already in computer screens and batteries for cell phones. It is harder and harder to find the minerals needed to produce what people want to consume. And are we going to stop people from consuming. No. Just look at the "gas shortage" this week. People will over consume if they don't think there is enough. Just because of me first mentality. People are stupid.
People are stupid and I think Musk knows this and is using it against them.
To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer
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rnbergren wrote: But the comments about the rare earth metals and other important elements for producing everything we use. That is huge. Seriously huge. We are seeing this already in computer screens and batteries for cell phones. It is harder and harder to find the minerals needed to produce what people want to consume.
Despite their name, rare-earth elements are relatively plentiful in Earth's crust, with cerium being more abundant than copper; they are just difficult to extract.
The problem with them being "harder to find" is due to the combination of because China being the world's leading producer and the US-China relations at the moment. This is making it difficult for the US to obtain them.
Nothing succeeds like a budgie without teeth.
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It seems to me that discussions in codeproject are getting more and more like Twitter spats
modified 6-Sep-22 21:01pm.
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What, when one person proclaims to be correct (ALL THE TIME), and all others are wrong? In that case, I suppose you have a point. 
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If you cut a potato in half, stick an electrode into each half and place the two pieces with their cut sides very close to each other but not quite touching, have you made a capacitator?
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
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If it powers the flux capacitator will we still need Mr. Fusion for time travel?
"They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"
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Place one half potato over each ear.
Whisper you question quietly.
Await their answer.
If they do not reply within 23 minutes then they consider he question a bit half-baked.
Even so, and to bake better, wrap the entire assembly in foil (potato-halves, electrodes, head) and keep that in place until they do answer.
Enlightenment will surely follow.
| Ravings en masse^ |
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| "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein | | "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010 |
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In this country at least, no. You'd have made a capacitor. 
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Maybe this is something well known, and I'm just late to the game: If you have a cordless tool, you are likely on a forced replacement scheme, and you don't know it. About 10 years ago I bought a cordless hedge trimmer, and its worked well. In the winter I bring it inside and store it, battery out, in the basement where it keeps relatively nice and warm. This year, after recharging the battery overnight, I went out yesterday to trim the hedge. The battery (NiCad) ran down after about 5 minutes, so I'm guessing its just not holding a charge any longer. No problem, I'll just go to the vendor, a national chain, and get a new battery, right? Um, no. That particular battery is no longer available. And so far, I've been unable to locate a third party replacement part.
It looks like the battery pack is screwed together, so maybe I can take it apart, and replace the individual cells. Maybe. Its probably soldered together, and I'm not sure I'd trust my soldering skills if I have to solder directly to the replacement cells, if I can even find something suitable.
So, in all likelihood, I'm going to have to bin an otherwise perfectly good hedge trimmer, just because I can't replace the battery pack. That's just wasteful. Not to mention an added cost. I do have an old pair of hedge trimming shears, and I used them to finish the job. Maybe I'll just stick with them. But if I replace the electric trimmer, I'll definitely consider a corded trimmer rather than cordless.
So if you have cordless tools that are a few years old, it might be worth buying a spare battery pack, or two, for the future.
Keep Calm and Carry On
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I bought a cordless drill a few years ago for 'the convenience'  and the battery crapped out as you described a couple years later.
My current electric drill is the same corded one that my in-laws bought me for Christmas the year my wife and I got married: 1980.
Software Zen: delete this;
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I thought we learned that back in the '70s.
Rechargeable batteries still have not improved sufficiently for occasional use by the average person. Professionals who use them constantly do get their money's worth.
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This.
My neighbor's a carpenter, and he's been all-in on battery-powered tools for years. What's especially convenient is that since he only buys tools from the same brand, his batteries are all interchangeable.
What amazes me is that his batteries will run power tools all day. Why can't I ever get more than 3 hours from a lousy laptop? Both use lithium-ion batteries. To the laptop manufacturers: Make them bigger/heavier, I don't care.
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I found that if you don't use them regularly they tend to do crapo.
I did construction for about 30 years and have had many cordless tools and the pricier tools are good quality but the battery is a battery. I've had a Porter-Cable drill motor for 6 years or so, $80, one battery and charger on Amazon and after I retired didn't use it on a regular basis until recently and have had no trouble with it. I've had Dewalt that the battery went bad after a couple of years. So all in all I'd say it's a crap shoot, buy good but don't count on battery being of same quality.
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This is why I don't recycle; batteries go into the bin, like glass and paper does.
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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This is why when last year I needed a new strimmer and a chainsaw, I bought petrol / gas powered ones.
Batteries are a PITA: they lose charge when it's cold (so they are flat when you want to use 'em), they don't last well, and replacements are expensive.
Hmm ... maybe it's not just the lack of a suitable charging infrastructure that keeps me driving a diesel car ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I've got a cordless strimmer and a cordless screwdriver - I have found that as long as I keep the batteries topped up and don't allow them to go completely flat they seem to last well.
My cordless screwdriver is 13 years old.
“That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.”
― Christopher Hitchens
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As I understand your issue, it's not that rechargeable batteries eventually die, it's that you can't find replacements, correct?
I've got several 18v DeWalt drills that are 15+ years old, and another 14v drill that is even older. I can still buy batteries for them online and through Batteries Plus.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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