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All about avid technology informationWater Fuel Cells – Before You Buy, Read This
Posted on December 10, 2011What if water fuel cells were the future of cars? What if we could really get rid of gasoline and oil dependence through this amazing technology, and what if we could ask our cars to run solely on water? It would change everything.
Water fuel cells involve a high level technology that encourages the electricity needed to power cars to be conducted by water rather than gas. It’s a simplistic way of explaining it, but the water that would replace the gas could become the future of car technology if we put our resources into developing it.
In water fuel cells, the water would basically “combust” to become hydrogen and oxygen. The car’s engine would burn through the hydrogen and incur the basic energy that we see from gasoline and diesel powered engines today. The concept was originally invented by Stanley Allen Meyer, but the totality of his principle was eventually rejected by scientific communities.
Instead of spending time developing water fuel cells, the scientific community spent its energy discrediting Meyer and his claim. Some projected that there was actually a conspiracy theory afoot, as oil fields in Texas would have been affected as would our international relations with the Middle East. There are many theories, none of which have been proven.
Water fuel cells are gaining attention once again as we realize now that our oil dependence is a serious problem. We need to have an alternative fuel source that will power our cars, and maybe even some day, heat our homes. The science behind this technology is a complex one, and the implications of introducing these cars to the public are rather significant. But with renewed vigor, these cells are now receiving the attention that they deserve.
If we could manufacture water fuel cells, we would reduce our oil dependency by an approximated 60% to 90%, depending on applied usage. This means that we would be able to withdraw our interest from countries that aren’t happy with us and we could become a much more self sustained country.
In the overall picture, water fuel cells could literally save not only our society but our planet as well. To date smog, ground level ozone, and water pollution caused by roadway runoff is one of the most serious planet health issues that we face today. Removing the destructive nature of gas powered vehicles would cut ground level ozone production immensely, as this is the major source of this deadly pollutant.
By: Alexis Jameson
Nissan Motors – A Brief History of a Japanese Car Manufacturer
Posted on October 10, 2011
Many of us have either owned or driven in a Nissan vehicle at one time or another. This Japanese car manufacturer has produced many well regarded vehicles over the years and continues to build strong brand awareness and support. Here’s a brief history of the company.
The company which eventually became Nissan Motors was originally established in 1933 when it took over all the manufacturing operations for Datsuns from the automobile division of Tobata Casting Co. It officially changed its name to Nissan Motor Co., Ltd on June 1, 1934.
Its founder was Yoshisuke Aikawa and had ambitious plans for the newly formed company to produce 10,000 to 15,000 cars per year. The first compact sized Datsun vehicle was produced at the Yokohama plant in April 1935. These cars were sold extensively throughout Japan and were also exported to Australia the same year.
As things evolved, the company also began to produce other passenger cars and trucks. However as World War II approached, the production shifted from small Datsun passenger cars to military trucks. During the war, Nissan also produced engines for military planes and for motorized torpedo boats.
Following the war, Nissan started to produce trucks again in 1945 and Datsun passenger cars in 1947. However at that time there were significant labor disputes which culminated in a 100 day strike in 1953. This lead to the development of much more effective management relations which were based on mutual trust.
In the 1960′s and 70′s, significant capital investment enabled the company to establish two state of the art manufacturing facilities. There were also many advanced designs which were developed and introduced over that period.
Notable improvements in the reduction of pollutants as well as efficient utilization of fuel helped to make these kinds of vehicles very popular with Americans following the oil crises in the 70′s. At that time Japanese vehicles were in great demand and captured a much larger share of the US market over that time.
As time evolved, Nissan continued to develop innovative new technologies and engineering to further improve their cars. They improved gas mileage and incorporated many advanced materials to help lower the weight and to provide better structural safety in their cars. In addition, Nissan became a leader in incorporating CAD/CAM systems and industrial robots.
This work has continued to evolve and has helped to establish Nissan as a leader in the design and development of cost effective vehicles with advanced technology and features.
By: Craig Thornburrow
Getting Your Driver’s License
Posted on August 27, 2011
Every state has their own requirements in order to get your driver’s license and learner’s permit. The age requirements are different as well. Some states allow for drivers as young as 15 years or age while most states require a driver to be 16 years old before they can get behind the wheel of a car. However, more and more states are requiring potential drivers to take a driver’s education course before they can take their test for a license to drive.
This makes good sense for many reasons. The first that with knowledge comes wisdom, and the more a teenager knows about the dangers of driving and how to drive safer, the better the chances that they will be a safer driver. This results in fewer lives needlessly lost and fewer traffic accidents. This has the added benefit of lower insurance rates, as well.
There are many high schools around the country that have even incorporated driver’s education into their curriculum. They have both a classroom component and a hands-on driving component. Some of the classroom instruction can also be completed online. Online classes allow teens to work at their own pace which gives them a better chance to grasp all the knowledge being taught to them. In addition, they are allowed to work in the comforts off their own bedroom on their own schedule. Online drivers ed is as easy as checking your email, IM, or surfing the web. For many parent, online drivers education is the best way to satisfy all the legal requirements because it is convenient and affordable.
Teen driving is the leading cause of fatal injury among our nation’s youth. Teen drivers programs are designed to emphasize the attitudes that ensure the safety of young drivers. Teen fatalities have declined thanks to other laws, as well, but driver’s education is a chief reason why teens are driving safer and smarter.
By: Dean Novosat
Run Your Car On Water – Boost Your Mileage And Help The Environment
Posted on June 06, 2011I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but the oil companies have perpetuated the fallacy that our cars need their product to run for a very long time. Its important to note that most of the original automobiles ran on much more natural fuels than petroleum. Mr Diesel (the creator of the diesel engine) ran his first engine on peanut oil and until he conceded under pressure from the oil companies, all of Henry Ford’s cars ran on ethanol (grain alcohol fuel).
Our cars all use what are called Internal Combustion Engines. There are two types of these engines: ones that need 3 things to run and ones that need 2. The ones that need 3 things are your standard engine. They need air, a fuel and a spark. When the air and fuel mixture is right (not to rich, not too lean) and the spark happens, vroom! You have a functional engine. The other type uses more controlled fuel and doesn’t need the spark – the fuel explodes from pressure alone. These engines are commonly known as diesel engines.
Now you’ve all heard the stories of people running diesel engines on vegetable oil, or oil from a deep fry machine at a restaurant. This is called biodiesel, its not a myth, you can even buy it at the pump now in many places. I’ve run my 1984 Mercedes-Benz diesel on this with no conversion at all.
So the question is, if diesels can run on this great fuel, what about gas engines that most of us drive? Well, they can run on all sorts of things. Many gas stations for years now have been providing Ethanol or Methanol blended gas. What this means is that they blend about 10% Ethanol or Methanol into the gasoline to improve its power and give it a cleaner burn.
How do they do this? They do this by making the gasoline more stable. The more stable the fuel is, the more likely it is to ignite at the correct time, and burn more completely. This is, of course, a simplification, but it is essentially why these blended fuels exist. The reason they add these grain alcohol blends is because the cost of oil is forcing refineries to make gas with a lower and lower octane rating. The lower the octane rating the less power the gas has and the worse it burns when your engine is hot. Back in the 1960′s premium gasoline had an octane rating of 107. Now its 93 at best. This means that the fuel you put in your car is simply inferior to what it used to be. There are a lot of ads these days about cars being able to drive 500 miles on a tank of gas. In 1941 Nash named their one of their cars the Nash Rambler 600 because it drove 600 miles on a tank of gas (25.8mpg).
It would seem like I’ve digressed, but this all comes full circle with the question of what can we do to make modern gas more stable and burn better? What can we add to the gas to improve it? Ethanol and Methanol are definite possibilities, but why should we spend all the energy of growing crops, using fuel to harvest them and transport the grain and refine it when there is something far more abundant that can be used to achieve the same goal: water.
The thought of burning water seems crazy, as it did to me the first time I heard of it. But then I had the logical thought… what does water consist of? Well, Hydrogen and Oxygen. When you run your car, the two things that are the active fuel are the gasoline and the oxygen in the air. Well sheesh, water is rather amazing when you think of it. it contains two things that can be used as fuel, but in its natural state is safe and easy to transport.
The question is then how do you separate the two and how efficient is it to do so? A lot of people have asked the same question over the years and as it turns out it depends on how much hydrogen you want. If you want to run your car on only hydrogen, then there’s a bit of work involved and some tuning you need to do on how your car mixes its air and fuel. If you want to put a moderate amount of hydrogen into your car to improve the quality of its fuel and lower its emissions then its actually very easy.
Without getting into the technical aspects, what you want is not exactly pure hydrogen, but something known as HHO, or Brown’s gas (also known as Rhodes Gas, Greengas, and Hydroxy). This gas can be extracted from water by a number of methods. Believe it or not, most cars can be easily converted to accept a boost from HHO converted from water right in the car. There are a lot of great resources out there to do this and get more out of your car, lower your fuel cost, and benefit the environment.
By: Michael D Cooper