XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: bap@shrdlu.com   
      
   On 14/01/14 14:57, J. Clarke wrote:   
   > In article , leszek.karlik@gmail.com   
   > says...   
   >>   
   >> On Tue, 14 Jan 2014 13:20:24 +0100, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)   
   >>  wrote:   
   >>   
   >> [...]   
   >>> 	However, that would not save you much if anything because you'd still   
   >>> have to maintain all those vehicles.   
   >>   
   >> Luckily, electric vehicles are significantly less maintenance-intensive   
   >> than   
   >> internal combustion vehicles.   
   >   
   > But now you have the issue of the electric vehicles not having any range   
   > and being slow to recharge, so the strategy of sending them hither and   
   > beyond picking up and dropping passengers fails.   
      
   Not necessarily. With our current infrastructure those are limitations   
   of current model electric vehicles. Those issues are not inherent faults   
   of electric vehicles. Electric cars are capable of very high speeds but   
   current battery technology limits the range. With the right supporting   
   infrastructure it would be quite simple to swap a dead battery for a   
   fresh one, possibly without even needing to slow down. We could do this   
   today if need be.   
      
   >   
   >> (Internal combustion engines are a nightmarish puzzle of interconnected   
   >> mechanical   
   >> parts that wear and have to be lubricated)   
   >   
   > And changing the oil takes less time than charging an electric car so   
   > where's the gain?   
   >   
   >> Electric motors are about two orders of magnitude simpler than internal   
   >> combustion.   
   >   
   > So what?  The rest of the car is falling apart or rusting to pieces   
   > before the internal combustion engine fails so where is the benefit?   
   >   
   >> Also, you don't need a transmission, and regenerative braking means that   
   >> even though   
   >> brake pads will have to be replaced, just like in IC vehicles, they will   
   >> wear much   
   >> more slowly.   
   >   
   > And it takes about as much time to change the brake pads as it does to   
   > charge an electric car twice.  There's still no real gain here.   
   >   
   >   
      
   None of the problems you list are beyond today's technology let alone   
   some hypothetical future one.   
      
      
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   Bernard Peek   
   bap@shrdlu.com   
      
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