Friday, September 17, 2010

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Self-Conscious Stop Lights Improve Traffic Flow

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 09:22 AM PDT

I. Hate. Stoplights. I loathe them, despise them, and if I were king for a day, I would tear down every stop light in the country. Sheer anarchy would follow of course, but I think everybody could use a little anarchy in their lives. My biggest problem with stop lights is that most of them are mindless, or even worse, part of some overloaded computer that thinks it’s improving traffic flow, but in reality I’ve hit five red lights in less than two miles. How is that progress?

Perhaps we are going about it wrong. A new study suggests that traffic lights operating outside of a controlled computer system actually improve traffic flow. But how?

I live in a four-stop light town (I can remember when we had just one!), so stop lights aren’t as much of a problem for me. For city dwellers though, many cities have tried to organize their stop lights to improve traffic flow, with longer greens during peak hours and lights that change with each other. But these systems cannot adapt to changes in the environment, like a traffic accident, or random gap in congestion.

By modeling traffic like a fluid though, and roads like a series of pipes, two European scientists think they have a better way. They think each light should be able to adapt to its unique situation, while feeding information into a central computer system. The computer could then crunch the numbers and share that info with other lights in the system. The key here though is that the lights wouldn’t be pre-programmed. They adapt according to needs, relying on the immediate situation as well as information fed to them from the central system. Makes sense to me.

I still think we could get rid of stop lights and go to rotaries though. If Europe can figure it out, why can’t we?

Source: Popular Science

U.S. Navy Buys 20,000 Gallons Of Algae Fuel

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 09:19 AM PDT

In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt instructed 16 battleships and a fleet of escort cruisers to travel around the world. Called the Great White Fleet, it was a demonstration of America’s up-and-coming power. Powered by coal, these smoke-belchers spent two years at sea sailing from port to port. They went through a lot of coal, but what if a fleet never had to come in to refuel though?

I might be getting ahead of myself, but I have high hopes. The U.S. Navy has purchased 20,000 gallons of algae fuel from next gen biofuels pioneers, Solazyme, for testing in their ships. That’s a lot of green gas!

I’m a bit of a military history buff, but you don’t have to be a five-star general to know that without fuel, an army isn’t going anywhere. Unfortunately, America relies on oil from countries I wouldn’t exactly call “friendly.” The U.S. Navy wants to get half of its fuel from sources other than oil, and algae makes a lot of sense for the Navy. I am well aware that turning algae into fuel is an intensive process. But I also imagine that down the road, it could streamlined to fit on a large naval vessel, which could theoretically never need to be refueled again, save for driving through an algae bloom.

The Navy bought the fuel from Solazyme, who also delivered 1,500 gallons of algae-based jet fuel for testing. Apparently, the U.S. Navy liked what it saw. Can you tell I am excited about this? Nevermind the military implications… a fleet that never had to refuel would be a tremendous advantage, and it is something that could make its way into commercial shipping as well. I hope to hear about more of this type of stuff down the road. Can our Navy really go green?

Source: CNET | Image: Solazyme

Automotive X-Prize Winners Announced

Posted: 17 Sep 2010 09:14 AM PDT

What would you do with $5 million? Would you use your money to spread joy, good will, and give to charitable organizations? Or would you go on a self-indulgent spending spree, buying that yacht and house in the Rivera you’ve always wanted? Personally, I’d probably buy a cabin in the middle of the woods and spending the rest of the days whittling life away. It probably won’t ever happen though.

The Edison2 team has to answer that question though, as their Very Light Car (pictured above) has been announced as the winner of the “Mainstream” category of the Automotive X-Prize.

The Li-Ion "Wave II"

In truth, the contest was theirs to lose, as all of their competitors have been systematically written off. The cause of the Automotive X-Prize, as many already know, was to build a vehicle capable of getting 100 mpg equivalent. The Edison2 team and their “Very Light Car” competed in the mainstream category. That meant the car had to hold four passengers, have air conditioning, heating, and be able to accelerate to highway speeds. At the end of the day, the Edison2 team managed to get 102 mpg equivalent using a single-cylinder motorcycle engine running on E85. Score another one for the internal combustion engine!

The Swiss "X-tracer" Motorcycles

There were other winners as well. Li-Ion motors scored a $2.5 million prize for their oddly-shaped electric car, which got the equivalent of 187 mpg. It was however the Swiss X-Tracer team, with a pair of enclosed electric motorcycles (with seating for two!) who got the best mpg equivalent of 205 mpg. They too, walked away with $2.5 million.

One nagging question remains though. Has the Automotive X-Prize brought humanity closer to a future powered by alternative fuels? Considering that an internal combustion engine-powered car dominated the “mainstream” class… I think we still have a ways to go.

Source: Consumer Reports
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