[Tfug] OT: Battery Powered Transportation: Converting Thermal to Electrical Energy

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Charles,

OK, with a few spare minutes, I went through your math...

You claim One SuperNuclear plant = 1×10^4MW (I'll take your
word on that -- ?).  You then assume it produces for 20Hrs/day
(I'll also take your word that it is unable to run 24/7).

From this, you derive:
Electric Capacity of One SuperNuclear plant = 2×10^5 MWHr

But, that's just one day's production!  In a year, you're
looking at ~ 350 times that amount or 7x10^7 MWHr.  This brings
your Minimum Number of SuperNuclear Plants Needed figure
down to ~15 (I'm not using a calculator here so forgive my
coarse approximations) from the 5,000 you initially figured.

Note that the total energy production from nuclear plants in
2007 was listed as ~8 quadrillion BTU.  So, the total transportation
energy requirements are approximately 4 times more than our
current total nuclear output (29/8).  Figure out how many nuclear
plants are currently operating in the country and you've got
a back-of-the-napkin approximation to what you would need to
handle *all* our transportation needs... (SWAG)

(Have *I* missed something here?  Always nervous when I do these
things in my head -- it LEAKS!  :> )

Note that I still stand by my comments re: mindset.  You have to
change the dynamics of the problem if you are going to "solve" it.

Invest in a good pair of WALKING SHOES!!  ;-)
--don