Re: Toyota Prius, transport, and the future.
 

Don't forget the caveat "within a closed system"

The earth is not a closed system, there is a vast amount of energy available in the form of solar power, enough to power our needs many many times over - The problem is collecting it efficiently

Re: Toyota Prius, transport, and the future.
 

You can't create energy. You can only transfer it. Open, closed, whatever.

Re: Toyota Prius, transport, and the future.
 

You misunderstand, I never said you were "creating" energy - The thermodynamic law states that the total energy only remains constant within a closed system, the earth is not a closed system as it is being supplied with vast quantities of energy from the nuclear reaction in the sun, there's nothing thermodynamically to stop us using this energy to create synthetic fuel

Re: Toyota Prius, transport, and the future.
 

Why is it a dead end? Just becasue the reaction can't be stablised doesn't mean it can't happen. As I pointed out, it is trying to reproduce how a star prodcues energy. Do you have any idea how hot the plamsa is these experiments?

There is one thing that has been missed here, which is out power trasmission system which aren't that great really. Alot of electricty is lost through heat and sheer distance power is carried, one reason at why its at such high voltage. If we looked how we transmit power and reduce waste and how devices use it, then less power will need to be generated.
I was in New York in 2003, when the power grid overloaded we were without power for I would say about 12-18 hours. It wasn't that we didn't have light, we didn't have water...So yes this is very important, espically as the national grid is creaking under the current load being put on it.

There is so much ingorance around nuclear power, who told you it wasn't safe in the first place good intenetions won't keep your warm at night, cloth and feed you.

I do belive in harness nature to generate power, but you live in the real world, how efficent is form of power production I really think for out mass gredd of power in the 1st World it won't be enough, nor is efficent enough yet. YEs if we changed out life styles, and though about what we do we would use less power it is totally possibale. I have lived on research base using sustiable living. Again so much c*** is talked about this too.

As for peak oil it seems that no one knows when it will happen, there is a lot more new fields still being found. I think issuess with getting to this oil is not so much expense of digging it up, but where it is in very unstable parts of the world. My dad heard of someone going to work in on project in one of these places, he was shot dead within months. So you see the problem can't you.

As an Island nation we should be looking how we can exist as we did before, without the hel of other nations.

What it comes down too, there is no respect for each other let alone the Earth. Until that happens, yes we are doomed to fail.

Re: Toyota Prius, transport, and the future.
 

I didn't misunderstand. Yes we can get energy from a variety of off-world sources, theoretically, including gravity as well. I was merely pointing out that it's not like making oil for lubrication, as the energy must come from somewhere.

Re: Toyota Prius, transport, and the future.
 

You said energy couldn't be created

Which is odd because I never said it could be:confused:

If you're going to make comments totally unrelated to what I'm saying don't quote me when you make them, otherwise it gives the impression that they were directed at me:rolleyes:

Re: Toyota Prius, transport, and the future.
 

Like this?

Re: Toyota Prius, transport, and the future.
 

Not so in london, its not the operators that set the cost, its the government, or the mayors office. Maybe in rural areas, but LRT set the oyster fares and the tube fares. Also on buses and tubes there are no peak journeys, just a flat fare no matter what. Trains, peak time when epople need to get to work.

I also agree with orphic about the energy thing, but its the sum of all parts at the end of the day. What would be the most efficent way of dealing with the lack of fuel when it runs out, thats the thing. Again, chagring all the leccy cars/bikes/busses etc, or producing trillions of gallons of synthetic fuel for std combustion engines or the Honda Firestorm?

I think a point raised earlier is probably more poinent than aything else said on thsi thread. The population of the world needs to be slowed, and that is a far more difficult challenge than any of the 'Where the fuel is going to come from' Ok, i know that China, and i think Japan (Stand to be corrected) have slapped a single child policy on thier epople, but thats dictatorship for you! Would it work in Europe? The French would go on strike, and the UK would have so much child benefit that we could go and invade another country that doesnt need invading!

Re: Toyota Prius, transport, and the future.
 

No, That was correcting your mis-quotation of the law

Re: Toyota Prius, transport, and the future.
 

By introducing an invalid constraint.