More on Hydrogen 7 by BMW
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany on 11.21.06
Remember BMW’s Hydrogen 7? The luxury sedan, which will be limitedly released next year, discharges mainly water vapor from its combustion engine. The hydrogen verses electric debate is still on—but If you are interested in how this machine eats up the pavement, Wired has an article on a recent test drive in Berlin.
The writer notes: “When pushed, the 12-cylinder, 260-horsepower engine emits a high-pitched whine like that of the diesel version of the 7 Series. It is not exactly a speed demon, but it doesn't lack power; after pulling onto an exit ramp, I accelerated from zero to 62.5 mph with two adult passengers in less than 10 seconds.”
And let's not forget the hydrogen. Before this machine can really hit the market, the article says, several issues with this fuel need to be solved—such as price, availability, storage, and flammability. The later, in particular made the writer a bit jittery: “Hydrogen's high flammability, compared to other fuel mixes, raises concern for many (especially for me while standing next to the fuel pumps). The Hindenburg and the Challenger both ran on hydrogen, although the fuel mix was not what triggered those disasters.”
The price of the car itself hasn't been addressed yet—but it's sure to be expensive, even for the luxury category. ::Wired
Images courtesy of Wired.
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I actually thought the larger problem was the color of the flame. A pure hydrogen burn results in a colorless flame. That would be fun to walk into I'm sure.
Even though most movies with car explosions are far more dramatic then any real gasolene driven explosion, the theoritical explosive energy of octane(petrol or gasoline) is larger then methane, which is larger then hydrogen.
In kg TNT/m(cubed)gas:
Octane 44.22
Methane 7.03
Hydrogen 2.02
I would guess that most people will agrue that batteries don't explode, but they could shock, surge, electrocute.
Anything that will be used to be an energy source will be unstable, and as such should be treated with respect for the very real danger that represents.
While some people do see that Hydrogen was not the reason for the Hindenberg explosion. Study an picture of the explosion and the flames are apperant.
Recent studies suggest that the ballons shell was the same material as solid rocket fuel, Ammonium Perchlorate.
Eye witness accounts reported multicolor flames. This suggests combustion of something other or at least as well as hydrogen (once again it burns clear).
Uh, you might want to check out der speigel's write up on the vehicle. It gets a whopping 17 miles to the gallon on gasoline, and much worse mileage on hydrogen. Car of the future? I think not. The url is: http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,448648,00.html
Less power, less mpg, more expensive. Wow, great fuel of the future.
Less power, less mpg, more expensive. Wow, great fuel of the future.
Yeah, that Tesla's a real bargain.
Tesla isn't a fuel, its a car.
The Tesla was never meant to be a cheap car. Its for rich people to buy to fund research into more affordable electric cars, they stated that from the start.
Tesla isn't a fuel
Neither is BMW.
Its for rich people to buy to fund research into more affordable electric cars, they stated that from the start.
You do a great job of repeating their hype.
When did I say BMW was a fuel? Are you really this stupid?