In our public talk today, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, the speaker read out Job 26:7-10 while holding up a photograph of the earth taken from space by Apollo astronauts. The scripture describes the earth as seen by Jehovah God.
"7 He [Jehovah] is stretching out the north over the empty place, hanging the earth upon nothing; 8 wrapping up the waters in his clouds, so that the cloud mass is not split under them; 9 enclosing the face of the throne, spreading out over it his cloud. 10 He has described a circle upon the face of the waters, to where light ends in darkness."
From space:
o- The earth hangs upon nothing.
o- Clouds envelope the earth like white blankets covering the blue seas.
o- The earth is a circle, or globe, of light surrounded by the darkness of space.
The only way Moses could have written these words is under inspiration by God. There was no concept amongst most of mankind 3,500 years ago of any of these ideas.
Although the Bible does not set out to be a scientific textbook, when it touches upon science what is says IS accurate.
30 January 2011
16 January 2011
The bucket and stones
The teacher held up a large transparent bucket of big stones. He asked his class of college students, "Is this bucket full?"
"Yes, sir!" most replied.
So, he reached down by his desk, took out a jar of small pebbles and poured them into the bucket. "Is it full now?" he asked.
"Yes, sir!" some replied.
So, he reached down, picked up a jar of sand and carefully poured the sand into the bucket. "NOW it's full," he said.
A student stood up with a bottle of beer. He walked up to the bucket, popped the top off the bottle, and poured the beer into the bucket.
"It's full NOW, sir!" he said.
The moral of the story? No matter how full your life is, there's always room for some beer.
"Yes, sir!" most replied.
So, he reached down by his desk, took out a jar of small pebbles and poured them into the bucket. "Is it full now?" he asked.
"Yes, sir!" some replied.
So, he reached down, picked up a jar of sand and carefully poured the sand into the bucket. "NOW it's full," he said.
A student stood up with a bottle of beer. He walked up to the bucket, popped the top off the bottle, and poured the beer into the bucket.
"It's full NOW, sir!" he said.
The moral of the story? No matter how full your life is, there's always room for some beer.
15 January 2011
Extending the range of EVs
One of the big issues with the use of electric vehicles (EVs) is how far they can go between charges. This is known as their range. The Nissan Leaf can go about 100 miles on one charge, as will the new Ford Focus EV. The Chevy Volt (Vauxhall Ampera) will have an on-board petrol motor to recharge the batteries if they run down before the car can be plugged in. (The Toyota Prius isn't an EV, it's actually a hybrid electric/petrol-drive car.)
What is needed is a radical solution to permit vehicles to go further on electric power alone. It ought to be implemented before too many EVs are around. It could also take advantage of some of the existing refuelling infrastructure.
My idea is to standardise on quick-change batteries.
New EVs would be designed around a standard battery format which would be located under what is now the hood or bonnet of a car. (The electric motors will be at each wheel, as most EVs already have.) The battery would probably have a range of 100 miles or so. Being under the hood/bonnet, it would be designed with fittings for quick removal and replacement.
When the battery charge gets low, you would drive the EV into what are now gas/petrol stations. Instead of fuel, you would pay a fee to have your depleted battery replaced with a fully-charged one. There would be some form of robotic crane at this battery station to swap batteries in a few minutes. It would then be the responsibilty of the fuel station staff to recharge depleted batteries.
The electric companies would wire up the battery stations with high-voltage power lines and quick-charge (4 hours) points in ranks to handle lots of batteries simultaneously. There would be a national pool of batteries distributed to fuel stations by battery manufacturers.
EV owners would never actually own vehicle batteries, just pay a fee for each use, which would include a full charge. Vehicles could travel unlimited distances with battery stations located within about 100 miles of each other, drivers just pausing to exchange batteries as needed.
I realise there are a number of issues with this concept, but it MUST be worth considering.
Some ideas to investigate:
- battery design standardisation;
- the cost of batteries;
- how the supply of batteries would work;
- standardising battery location in EVs;
- devising an automated method for swapping batteries;
- how to ensure battery stations get adequate electricity supplies;
- rolling out battery replacement technology to existing fuel stations;
- the payment model and unit cost for EV battery usage.
Well, that's the bare bones of the idea. What do you think?
What is needed is a radical solution to permit vehicles to go further on electric power alone. It ought to be implemented before too many EVs are around. It could also take advantage of some of the existing refuelling infrastructure.
My idea is to standardise on quick-change batteries.
New EVs would be designed around a standard battery format which would be located under what is now the hood or bonnet of a car. (The electric motors will be at each wheel, as most EVs already have.) The battery would probably have a range of 100 miles or so. Being under the hood/bonnet, it would be designed with fittings for quick removal and replacement.
When the battery charge gets low, you would drive the EV into what are now gas/petrol stations. Instead of fuel, you would pay a fee to have your depleted battery replaced with a fully-charged one. There would be some form of robotic crane at this battery station to swap batteries in a few minutes. It would then be the responsibilty of the fuel station staff to recharge depleted batteries.
The electric companies would wire up the battery stations with high-voltage power lines and quick-charge (4 hours) points in ranks to handle lots of batteries simultaneously. There would be a national pool of batteries distributed to fuel stations by battery manufacturers.
EV owners would never actually own vehicle batteries, just pay a fee for each use, which would include a full charge. Vehicles could travel unlimited distances with battery stations located within about 100 miles of each other, drivers just pausing to exchange batteries as needed.
I realise there are a number of issues with this concept, but it MUST be worth considering.
Some ideas to investigate:
- battery design standardisation;
- the cost of batteries;
- how the supply of batteries would work;
- standardising battery location in EVs;
- devising an automated method for swapping batteries;
- how to ensure battery stations get adequate electricity supplies;
- rolling out battery replacement technology to existing fuel stations;
- the payment model and unit cost for EV battery usage.
Well, that's the bare bones of the idea. What do you think?
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