Comment by 👻 darkghost

The scientist in me just wants to correct one little point: lithium does not ignite in air. The danger from the lithium nickel manganese cobalt batteries is in the electrolyte, which produces hydrogen gas in the event of a short, either through dendrite formation or puncture. This is what creates swollen batteries and why they must be carefully disposed of, which is a lot harder when it is the size of a car and several tons.

Lithium metal will oxidize in air but not combust.

There's a new saying based on an old one. It is about how many hours of your wage you spend on making someone else wealthy. How long did you spend enriching a billionaire this year? I think of it when Elon is mentioned now.

Oct 26 · 8 weeks ago

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I'm now wishing there's air powered cars, or even nuclear powered cars.

I recall there was something about compressed air cars. They recharged via electricity powering an air compressor.

Provlem is, the power output decreases as pressure decreases. This effect is minor in EVs and nonexistent in fossil vehicles. Plus the whole compressed air thing, which is scary.

Nuclear would be dangerous too. The "safest" is a thermoelectric generator powered by heat from isotopic decay. The Soviets used TEGs first for kerosene radios in rural areas and later for nuclear light houses in extremely remote areas. NASA uses them for deep space probes. They don't generate much power though. Maybe a few hundred watts. You'd still need a battery, but maybe you could manage with a lower capacity lead acid battery.

Thank you for the correction. I thought it was maybe the moisture in the air, but hydrogen makes a lot more sense.

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