EV Powered By Laptop Batteries Sets World Record, Cruising 600 Miles on a Single Charge

So why is our best EV only 40 miles to the charge? Im confused.

But how many times can you drive those 600 miles before the battery starts to degrade?

Well they are lithium so a while I would think. does this mean the car manufacturers are still in bed with the oil companies? ;D

are's are only 40 miles per charge cause we're american and we like to drive at least 80mph.

Average number of cells in a laptop battery is 9 (though 8320/9 is not an integer, so they must've used batteries with different amounts of cells in them - 8320/6, 8320/12 also are not integers)

lowest cost of a 9-cell battery is around $40 retail

so assuming that these 'cylindrical batteries' are just a reference to the number of cells in a laptop battery pack, then they spent about $37k just for the batteries. Plus the cost of the wiring for 925 batteries... Plus the cost of the actual car itself... This is hardly practical.

Now if I'm wrong about the 9:1 :: cell:battery ratio and it's really 1:1 :: cell:battery... though I'd love to see how they managed to fit 8320 laptop batteries in the car... then we're talking a cost (again, just for the batteries) of about $332k.

No matter which way you slice it, this was WAY expensive. And what did they manage to do? Go 600 miles @ 30 mph. I'm not impressed. Maybe with more funding they can do something better. It's a step in the right direction though.

Hmm, maybe more industries should combine their tech in this manner, who knows what unknown efficiencies we might come across.

for instance:use Wiimote IR detectors in robots for sensors.(and yes i know this has been done before, just an example.)

"God is just a statistic":Marilyn Manson.

why only 40 miles? because it's a hybrid, and the money and weight went towards the engine rather then batteries.

The EV1 was great car, that got about 100 miles 20 years ago. well, 80 miles on lead acid batteries, and about 100-120 miles on NiMH. which last. that was in 1990 in the US.

Personally I would rather have a EV1 with a NiMH battery over anything they are producing now.

A correctly built car today, would be straight electric, with a special compartmentalised trunk to hold a tiny portable generator that you can buy at the hardware store. plugs and vented, as well as a utility jack that the makers of portable generators can start including like a USB port to turn the on and off when needed. with a 100 mile battery, such a generator could extend the driving time indefinitely. and you don't have the costs of a car engine and maintenance.

@ "logical_atheist"

This is off topic but here is some proof against your "god is fake, god is statistics, oh I don't know who I am offending!" In both the Bible and the Book of Mormon it has the phrase "other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." In the Bible it is John 10:16, In the Book of Mormon it says the phrase in 3 Nephi 15:21. In the Book of Mormon it says, however, "And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold...". Joseph Smith was not well educated in the Bible at the time that he translated the Book of Mormon. He would read it enough that he came across a scripture that says "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God...". He lacked wisdom, He wanted to know what church to join, He got visited by God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ in the Sacred Grove, and Eventually followed their directions to found a church in his name. There are no churches whatsoever other than The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that uses Christ's full name. Our church was attacked more than any other church or religion in the world. If our church were to be of the devil why would the other churches that aren't true be left alone. I'll tell you. It is because our church is the true church, it is the only one with a living prophet, and the devil wants to destroy it. Take this into account, Read the Book of Mormon, even if you have to use www.lds.org, and pray, truly pray, about whether it is true or not, you will get an answer.

Good luck and I hope that you think about this.

I'm not a scientist or engiqueer, but I always wondered if a current is allowed to be "passed" through a set of batteries and increased? Say, hook a generator to the bank of batteries and run both thereby increasing the efficiency of both? Would that pop the batteries? Or is that how Hybrids sort of work? I know they use battery power and switch to engine power as the charge lowers to recharge. But Is there some way to use a transformer of some type to boost the power and/or amperage? I am impressed with this story either way. The first Fuel Powered cars nearly crawled compared to what we have today. Batteries being what they are how much did the batteries alone weigh in this vehicle? By the way I'm certain all the stories and conspiracy myths are mostly true of the car and oil companies. If it sounds probable, it is.

You can find those 3.6v lithium ion battery cells for about $7 in small quantities, so even if you assume buying in bulk gets you half that price, that's still around $29,000 for the batteries.

Since they only last around 5 years when subjected to major draining that long trips w/o charging would cause. $29k/5yr=$5,800/yr.

That much money would buy 1,933 gallons of gas at $3/gal, an enable my Civic to go 77,333 miles each year for the same cost. Since I only drive about 20k mi/yr, gas is still a bargain compared to this EV.

It's not collusion between Big-Auto and Big-Oil, it's just physics. Get the energy density of a battery equal to gas or diesel at a comparable price and then you'll have a winner.

don't have lot of time, but had to say something.

@supergeekinventor - read The End of Faith by Sam Harris

@Christopher is right - electric cars are faster then combustion engine cars in acceleration. no worries on performance if that was your concern. top speed is usually governed at 100-120mph. faster cars would require different motors/gearboxes.

@ITGuy - there are combustion engine cars that cost a couple million. your not comparing apples to apples. economy/commercial productions are produced with large battery packs.

and batteries have more energy density and efficiency then both hydrogen and air. they are fine now, hell lead acid was (EV1 only got like 65 miles on lead acid, but the average daily commute is only 21 miles, and it reportedly got over 100 miles on NiHM, lithium would of been 150) and will only get better. but NiHM is the way to go for cost efficiency.

though I would like to see some bio-batteries. (Electric Eel electrocyte cells spliced/engineered into bacteria producing a battery that runs on garbage.

Well they are lithium so a while I would think. does this mean the car manufacturers are still in bed with the oil companies? ;D
http://www.gencvideo.net/

and batteries have more energy density and efficiency then both hydrogen and air. they are fine now, hell lead acid was (EV1 only got like 65 miles on lead acid, but the average daily commute is only 21 miles, and it reportedly got over 100 miles on NiHM, lithium would of been 150) and will only get better. but NiHM is the way to go for cost efficiency.

though I would like to see some bio-batteries. (Electric Eel electrocyte cells spliced/engineered into bacteria producing a battery that runs on garbage.
http://www.pornerator.com/

@eshersand: finally, someone's on my side.

@supergeekinventor: i've done all the thinking about the subject that i ever needed when i first began to question god about 3 years ago.

and my challenge to the faith community is this...

show me a picture of god just like all scientists are asked to prove their work and then i'll consider the christian faith again. until then, god has no more evidence for or against his existence than bigfoot or the lochness monster.(and even they have debatable images of them)

until the faith community is forced to prove their god exists on the same terms that scientists prove their work, then you all are a bunch of hypocrites.

Look here people I think we're getting off the subject.

@Eschersand: Smart & right about the electric car idea.

@ITguy: Most real electric cars don't have that many
batteries; plus with government subsidation and
mass production batteries won't cost $29,000 in
every car. That's stupid.
@logical_atheist: Obviously you're not very familiar with
Christianity. The basis for Christianity
is faith in God; having faith that He is
real and sovereign and that His Son will
free you from your sins.

But seriously people, will you PLEASE quit talking about religion. THis is all about electric cars. Trust me I am educated about this matter: I made 34 on my ACT, 760 on SAT Math Level I, 790 on SAT Chemistry. (I want to go to MIT.)

Where did the smart folks who read this site go? I sure miss them. Discussions about a "GOD" on a Science web site is simply retarded.Please keep it on a theological site?

Again I ask....Is there a way to pass an electric current over a bank/set/bunch of batteries and not blow yourself up? OR...(hopefully)would they just increase a low generator(hybrid type) charge/current to a higher one? In the same way/manner a transformer works up on a tele-pole? I just want to understand why there can't be a simple solution to the issues of battery size? Why can't they instead be used to just maintain a currents "peak" when able to. And, then take a charge when needing one. Thereby increasing the generators output to run the whole shi-bang as the hybrid is supposed to. At low engine speed when the batt's have enough charge, and then increased only when needing to move the vehicle faster or recharging?

It seems simple. So why can't it work? OHH....And if somebody has any information about retro-fitting a gas Car's transmission to an electric motor, please post something about it? And don't lead me someplace strange? Know what I mean?

Japan, would you move over here to the United States?