Alternative Sources of Fuel for the Automobile

Ironic, but the race has begun. The goal is to find a device that equals the combustion engine in its efficiency. Mind you, its not the alternative source of fuel we are looking for. They're all around us. What we seek is a technological breakthrough that will allow us to bid goodbye to fossil fuel consumption. Let's take a look at natural alternatives. Solar - as yet an unlimited supply. It's just unfortunate that solar cell technology is still a little bit inefficient. Hydrogen - aside from being very light, its the most abundant substance in  the universe. An unlimited source! Where did technology go? Nitrogen - the engine developed for this particular element excretes water. Wonderful and yet, some know it all scientists insist that it still is a pollutant because when water evaporates, carbon is released. Tell that to the rain. The nitrogen engine has already gone through extensive trials. Probably a next step in energy generation. Water - yes there is an engine designed to run on water. It just keeps on exploding. Water is scarce though. Now we turn our attention to manufactured alternatives. Electricity - there are still power plants which use fossil fuel. Until the dependency from the source is removed, we really cannot rely on it. Ethanol  - gives less energy than fossil fuels do when burned. You would need a bigger gas tank. Besides, you still need to mix petrol with it before it can run your car. And as there are millions of cars, what do you think it would t take to produce the amounts of ethanol needed? Ethanol comes from corn. Go figure. Biodieseil - same as ethanol. You still need diesel, which is a byproduct of gasoline to help it run a vehicle. What happens when diesel runs out? Just like ethanol, this is a temporary solution. Hybrid Technology - again, it's a temporary solution. When oil runs out, hybrid fuel engines will not run anymore. It seems that the answer to our dilemna can be found in the first two alternatives. Solar power is, as far as we are concerned, unlimited. Hydrogen is limitless. Why not concentrate research on those two instead of spending money on temporary solutions?

 

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