Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What form of energy could be used as a fossil-fuels alternative? How about some kind of "energy beams" as in the Starship Enterprise?
Could we such "energy beams" to power automobiles, trains, trucks, jet-speed (subsonic and supersonic) aircraft, space ships and boats?
Our future lies in and depends upon advanced energy and advanced medicine both. When fossils fuels are all depleted, we could be back in Medieval times again.
fossil fuels are only one source of energy derived from redox reactions.
A magnifying glass being used to cook an ant is a form of "energy beam." Your microwave oven uses "energy beams." Some remote vehicles have already been powered by microwaves. FWIW, talk radio is a destructive energy beam.
It's all solar energy, @ one remove or another. While we're waiting/working on practical fusion, we could always orbit solar arrays (no weather problems between orbit & the sun), & xmit the collected energy to receiving areas on Earth (or elsewhere - anywhere you can build a receiver). & then parcel out the energy as required.
Lots of infrastructure, but the components are doable, TMK.
Scientists have to research prospects of black beans in particular especially/other not used yet Legumes that might be comparable to ethanol of Sugarcane/Corn/Soybeans. Brazil went very far with ethanol: https://www.rapidtransition.org/stor...and%20gasoline.
"Brazil today is home to the world's largest fleet of cars that use ethanol derived from sugarcane as an alternative fuel to fossil fuel based petroleum. Twenty-seven million cars, 73% of the total, can use a mix of ethanol and gasoline"
Wave power in Hydrology(Water surface moving on sea/ocean) is one of the most important breakthroughs in the not that distant 2020's, 2030's+: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_power
I live in Brazil and I always fill up my car's fuel tank with ethanol, a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels. But the problem with sugarcane-made ethanol is the extensive use of arable land that could be used to grow food instead...
If there was an economically feasible way to make ethanol from plants that grow in arid and semi-arid land, that would be a good solution. Or from algae. Or plants that grow on rivers and lakes.
The problem with using ethanol is we have more deforestation and soil erosion which ultimately results in desertification. This is especially true in tropical nations which remove their rainforest to grow these crops. The answer is wind, solar, and should be nuclear, but the left doesn't want to do nuclear.
In the meantime, natural gas and coal are preferable to ethanol and burning wood. Ultimately it's all just carbon from plant material. Deforestation and desertification are much larger potential problems than atmospheric CO2 levels.
I don't see how ethanol is any more "carbon neutral" than natural gas. That makes no sense. This is why I don't trust studies. You can literally come up with a study to support any conclusion, depending on how political hacks of the day feel.
I don't see how ethanol is any more "carbon neutral" than natural gas.
Natural gas is carbon accumulated through many thousands of years, and was buried hundreds of meters under ground until someone took it back to the surface. So it increases the amount of carbon in the atmosphere in the present.
Ethanol is made from plants that absorb carbon from the atmosphere a few months or years before it is burnt. So it's not increasing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere in the present.
The problem with ethanol is the use of arable farm land. The best solution would be biofuels made from algae, from cactus, or from plants that grow in rivers and lakes (like water hyacinth for example). But there is no economically feasible technology for that yet.
What form of energy could be used as a fossil-fuels alternative? How about some kind of "energy beams" as in the Starship Enterprise?
Could we such "energy beams" to power automobiles, trains, trucks, jet-speed (subsonic and supersonic) aircraft, space ships and boats?
Our future lies in and depends upon advanced energy and advanced medicine both. When fossils fuels are all depleted, we could be back in Medieval times again.
There is no "energy beams" in Star Trek. They use a mineral called Dylithium to power the warp cores. And aparently its highly volatile, and can destroy planets.
In the new Star Trek Discovery, the current plotline is all the Dylithium in galaxy combusted simultaneously leaving everyone without warp drive and fracturing the old alliances like the Federation.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Buckets o' sunshine
