Berkeley CSUA MOTD:2011:July:10 Sunday
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2011/7/10-8/2 [Transportation/Car/Hybrid] UID:54141 Activity:nil
7/8     Is there some reason we can't have mass market nat gas cars?
        \_ Not enough infrastructure for refuing.  Chicken and egg.
        \_ Not enough infrastructure for refueling.  Chicken and egg.
        \_ It has less than half the energy density of gasoline.  -tom
           \_ So you have to compress it, which results in huge explosions
              during a crash. Same for flywheel tech.
              \_ It's not a safety issue; CNG isn't particularly more likely
                 to explode than gasoline.  It's that the amount of CNG that
                 fits in a gas tank won't get you even half of the distance
                 of a tank of gasoline.  -tom
                 \_ 1. Can we make CNG tanks and valves twice as strong, such
                       that it can withstand twice the pressure and can store
                       twice as much LPG in the same volume?
                       twice as much CNG in the same volume?
                    2. What about LPG?
                    \_ LNG is far more expensive to produce.  The answer to
                       your initial question is "yes."  -tom
        \_ My grandfather used to fuel his Suburban with a trailer hooked
           up behind it with CNG, it was cheaper than gasoline. This was
           back in the 80s and while he sometimes had to look around for
           a hookup he always found one. I always wondered why more people
           don't do this. -ausman
           \_ do *you* do this? and if not, why not?
              \_ I didn't own a car until very recently.
                 \_ and now?
        \_ Because we decided to not take over Iran, the world's second
           largest nat gas reserve.
        \_ Who cares, we have working pubtrans.
Berkeley CSUA MOTD:2011:July:10 Sunday