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Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: TheCelestialOne on October 22, 2003, 09:11:04 am

Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: TheCelestialOne on October 22, 2003, 09:11:04 am: http://www.esa.int/export/esaCP/SEMMLK7O0MD_index_0.html

:D :eek2: :D

YAY! WOOHOO!
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: kasperl on October 22, 2003, 09:37:34 am: oh yeah, finnally something to be proud of as a country.

winning a solar race, as a country without any real amounts of sun.
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Setekh on October 22, 2003, 09:41:15 am: I heard about this on the news - seems they really smashed the record (their own), too. Good on 'em, I can't wait till solar power takes root. :)
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Gloriano on October 22, 2003, 09:47:02 am: Quote
Originally posted by Setekh
I heard about this on the news - seems they really smashed the record (their own), too. Good on 'em, I can't wait till solar power takes root. :)

:nod:
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Nico on October 22, 2003, 09:48:12 am: Quote
Originally posted by kasperl
oh yeah, finnally something to be proud of as a country.

winning a solar race, as a country without any real amounts of sun.

that can sound very ironic, but it's also quite an achievement :)

Quote
Originally posted by Setekh
I can't wait till solar power takes root. :)

as for that, well... not anytime soon I guess, looking at the thing...
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: TheCelestialOne on October 22, 2003, 09:53:54 am: Well, a 97 kph average speed over 3010 km is not a minor thing done on solar power mind you.
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Nico on October 22, 2003, 09:55:37 am: well yeah, but I expect my car to have at least some "cargo" capacity :p
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: TheCelestialOne on October 22, 2003, 09:58:59 am: Well, you can rip out some solar panels and add cargo space but don't assume you'll drive about 890 km in a day (as they did) on 1 charge up.

I mean this thing was build for long distance. IMO if applied for short distance transit it can take 2 persons and some cargo. Some more years of dev and you got full transit IMO.
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Setekh on October 22, 2003, 10:04:19 am: Quote
Originally posted by Venom
as for that, well... not anytime soon I guess, looking at the thing...

;) Unfortunately, I think you're absolutely right. Doesn't help one bit that all the big fossil fuel multinationals buy out all the good-looking solar research and then subsequently put it in 'on hold' indefinitely. :sigh:
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Shrike on October 22, 2003, 10:47:29 am: *looks at the weather outside*

Solar's got one problem. Its power source doesn't work 50% of the time.... and less so during rainy, cloudy winter.
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: TheCelestialOne on October 22, 2003, 10:48:30 am: *looks at the capability to electrically charge batteries in case of such weather*

:D
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Levyathan on October 22, 2003, 03:40:17 pm: Am I the only one to see the possibility of a tax on solar power in the near future?
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: YodaSean on October 22, 2003, 07:02:24 pm: :wtf: That would be very weird. If there was any group really worried about losing money from the "free" energy, its more likely they would try to supress the development of solar technology than try to tax people on it. Maybe extremely high taxes on solar equipment, though.
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Setekh on October 22, 2003, 10:12:14 pm: Quote
Originally posted by Levyathan
Am I the only one to see the possibility of a tax on solar power in the near future?

That has just the right amount of stupidity to be something I believe future governements could resort to. :sigh:
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Bobboau on October 22, 2003, 10:17:29 pm: Fuel cells,
they rock,
also look into thermal depolimerisation, it's cool too, cause it uses all our exsisting technology
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Sandwich on October 23, 2003, 04:21:39 am: Hydrogen-powered cars are the future... plug the engine into a system that seperates water into its component elements, and you're all set. :) The car runs on the hydrogen, and pure oxygen comes out the tailpipe. :)

I can see it now... highways switch from being pollution centers to the exact opposite. :p
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: TheCelestialOne on October 23, 2003, 04:35:27 am: Pure oxygen? Hydrogen?

:shaking:

I don't wanna ride that kinda vehicle...
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Turnsky on October 23, 2003, 04:47:19 am: Quote
Originally posted by TheCelestialOne
Pure oxygen? Hydrogen?

:shaking:

I don't wanna ride that kinda vehicle...

w00t!.. rocket fuel!..
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Martinus on October 23, 2003, 05:00:59 am: [color=66ff00][confusion]But surely O2 is a decent enough supply of power that it could burn with the Hydrogen?[/confusion]
[/color]
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Setekh on October 23, 2003, 05:09:19 am: Quote
Originally posted by Maeglamor
[color=66ff00][confusion]But surely O2 is a decent enough supply of power that it could burn with the Hydrogen?[/confusion]
[/color]

Depends on what you mean by burn with. If you try and burn them without separating them, all you've got is... water. :blah:
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: delta_7890 on October 23, 2003, 05:52:43 am: Quote
Originally posted by Setekh

Depends on what you mean by burn with. If you try and burn them without separating them, all you've got is... water. :blah:

Yes! Burn the water! Steam-powered cars, woo! *That* is the future. ^^;;;
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: icespeed on October 23, 2003, 06:10:30 am: anyone ever read a book called 'gridlock' by ben elton?
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Gloriano on October 23, 2003, 02:13:22 pm: Quote
Originally posted by Turnsky

w00t!.. rocket fuel!..

;)
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Martinus on October 23, 2003, 04:11:41 pm: Quote
Originally posted by Setekh

Depends on what you mean by burn with. If you try and burn them without separating them, all you've got is... water. :blah:

[color=66ff00]Basic rocket propulsion: Burn a mixture of hydrogen and oxyen gas in the right ratio and you get thrust, of course the wrong mixture simply blows your rocket up. :)
[/color]
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Hippo on October 24, 2003, 06:52:45 pm: would YOU like to drive down a highway full of cars that could be considered rolling hydrogen bombs? it would make a big mess when it comes to car accidents... :p :nod: :nervous:
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Turnsky on October 24, 2003, 07:13:40 pm: Quote
Originally posted by Hippo
would YOU like to drive down a highway full of cars that could be considered rolling hydrogen bombs? it would make a big mess when it comes to car accidents... :p :nod: :nervous:

think hindingberg(sp?) not thermo-nuclear weapons..:nod:
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Sesquipedalian on October 24, 2003, 11:01:54 pm: That is not how hydrogen fuel cells work, anyway. They don't function at all like an internal combustion engine. No burning is involved here.

Basically, hydrogen fuel cells provide electric power by reversing the process of electrolysis. There really isn't any risk of a fuel cell blowing up. (True, if your hydrogen tank gets punctured, it'll explode, but so will the tank of gasoline you have now.)
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Gloriano on October 26, 2003, 02:30:32 pm: i just hope that someone don't but nuclear reactor to car's in future:p
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: TheCelestialOne on October 26, 2003, 02:50:26 pm: Another nice note; The Dutch came in on the 3rd day... the rest took a day longer to finish. Talk about your massive victory :D
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: Nico on October 26, 2003, 04:53:54 pm: Quote
Originally posted by Sandwich
Hydrogen-powered cars are the future... plug the engine into a system that seperates water into its component elements, and you're all set. :) The car runs on the hydrogen, and pure oxygen comes out the tailpipe. :)

I can see it now... highways switch from being pollution centers to the exact opposite. :p

pure oxygen? the result of breathing pure oxygen is about the same as being drunk, if I don't say crap :)
That would be bad, I guess :D
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: vyper on October 26, 2003, 04:56:10 pm: Actually, pure oxygen is too dangerous to allow into the wild, so to speak. Burning our eyes out and igniting at the littlest thing... bit like admins. :nervous:
Title: The Netherlands break all records!
Post by: kasperl on October 27, 2003, 10:53:31 am: erm, there's pure water, H2O, coming out of the exhuast.

and if one of those things explodes, think baby Challenger, not baby H bomb.