R 809 Technology and Society unintended consequences Murphys
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R 809 Technology and Society unintended consequences Murphy’s Law “if it can go wrong, it will go wrong, and at the worst possible time”
unintended consequences Science is full of unintended consequences. The invention of what became “post-it” notes is one, there are many others.
some problem areas • hackers can control cars • biofuels • battery powered cars • petroleum mining that can kill us
where does petroleum come from?
what can we get from a barrel of crude oil? • 19 gallons of gas • 10 gallons of distillate fuel oil (includes home heating oil and diesel fuel) • 4 gallons of kerosene / jet fuel • 2 gallons of asphalt • Huge costs when part of the Defense Budget, American lives and targeted Foreign Aid are added to the “spot cost per barrel”
health problems
what can we do to generate “green” electricity? • • Wind Hydro – including tide water generators Geothermal Solar Rain Biomass and biofuel (made from biomasses) More nuclear reactors Go back to the 1950’s, or before
biofuel • Sugar crops (such as sugar cane or sugar beet), or starch (like corn or maize) can be fermented to produce ethanol, a liquid fuel commonly used for transportation. • Natural oils from plants like oil palm, soybean, or algae can be burned directly in a diesel engine or a furnace, or blended with petroleum, to produce fuels such as biodiesel. • Wood and its byproducts can be converted into liquid biofuels, such as methanol or ethanol, or into woodgas. • Wood can also be burned as solid fuel, like the familiar firewood. Chipped waste biomass, such as the tops of trees discarded by logging operations, can be burned in specially designed furnaces.
Some Biomass/Biofuel producers United States Germany Netherlands France Spain United kingdom Australia Austria Portugal Sweden Brazil Belgium Denmark Canada Poland Ireland China Norway Japan Finland India Malaysia Indonesia Laos Egypt Serbia Argentina Columbia Philippines Thailand
problems Diverting food for people to food for cars increases the costs of: • Food (a major problem in some third world countries • Lumber and all products made from sawdust and wood chips • Furniture and all composite materials
how can you best help the environment? buy a Prius? OR eat less red meat?
energy density Energy density – watt-hours per kilogram • Liquid H 2 39000 • Propane (liq. ) 13900 • Diesel 13750 • Gasoline 12200 • Lithium 350 (175 in battery form) • Lead acid bat. 25 (10 in battery form)
automobile batteries Currently used • Ni. MH – nickel-metal-hydride used in Prius Next generation • Ni. Zn – nickel-zinc • Lithium-ion Long range • Fuel cells
some questions • without breakthroughs in technology are EV’s and hybrids viable? • can we gamble on undeveloped technologies? • where does electricity come from? • what breakthroughs in electricity generation are reasonable to expect? • are automated highways where cars get energy from the roadway possible?
What’s wrong? It is much easier to believe than to think and examine. Science is a prime example of this, however things almost never work out exactly as planned. And if they do it will usually be years if not centuries later.
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