BMW's New "Hydrogen 7" Sedan - It's The Bomb!
According to a recent article in NewScientist Online Magazine, “Road tunnels may have to be redesigned if the hydrogen economy takes off.”
Cars fueled by hydrogen have been touted for their potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Now Dr. Yajue Wu of the University of Sheffield, UK, has built a computer simulation of a hydrogen car crashing inside a tunnel.
Unlike
gasoline, which pools and ignites on the ground, escaping hydrogen
would create a high-velocity "jet flame" stretching upwards for many
meters. Wu found that this 2000 °C flame would seriously damage tunnel
ceiling structures and wreck fire sensors and sprinklers.
Among automakers, Germany's BMW
has taken an early lead in bringing a hydrogen/gasoline (alternative
fuels) internal combustion passenger car to market. Widely recognized
as a sham, for its ridiculously high energy input per unit of energy
output, BMW seems undaunted by any and all realities being brought to
light. In response to the “jet flame” findings, a spokesman for BMW
said that in crash tests the fuel tank on its prototype hydrogen car has
never been breached.
Thinking
that a given technology is infallible is about as useful as a medieval
military architect saying, “Castle walls this thick have never been
breeched”, only to see a large cannon rolling up to his castle gates.
The Titanic was unsinkable. Current radar and communications systems
make it possible to safely navigate a 963 foot freighter safely between
the towers of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge, even in only 300
foot visibility. When the China Ocean Shipping Corporation (COSCO)
Busan recently collided with one of the bridge's towers, the English
speaking harbor pilot was quoted as saying, "Ouch, that hurts".
In
his January, 28, 2003 State of the Union address, President George Bush
optimistically said, “The first car driven by a child born today could
be powered by hydrogen and pollution-free”. By April 26, 2006, his
speech writers had him touting everything from increased refinery
capacity, “environmentally sensitive” exploitation of the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska, ethanol as an alternative fuel to gasoline, hybrid cars, and bio-fueled diesel cars as potential saviors for our old-energy addicted nation.
Near
the end of a long speech, Bush mentioned that “We're spending about
$1.2 billion over five years to research the use of hydrogen to power
vehicles”. On November 7, 2007, General Motors
reported a nearly $39 billion third-quarter loss, its largest ever. If
you compare the U.S. backed research that the President touted to a
straight-line projection of GM’s potential losses over the same five
years ($780 billion), it makes you wonder where our national priorities
lie.
Whether a hydrogen-fueled automobile runs on internal combustion, like the BMW 7 or “space age” fuel cells,
the most vulnerable component on either type vehicle is the fuel tank.
Residents of California awoke on October 14, 2007 to hear that three
people were killed and at least 10 injured in a multi-vehicle crash that
caused a fire inside a tunnel and forced the closure of the Interstate 5
Freeway in the Los Angeles area.
the
opportunity to experience “rocket power” when the never-before-breached
fuel tank of your fuel-guzzling “Ecomobile 7” from BMW crashes in a
tunnel near you. I can see the ads now: “You will have to experience
it to believe it. Now available at your BMW Store – The longer, lower,
wider, bigger, better and more powerful – Hydrogen Bomb 7”. It couldn’t happen, you say?
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