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Excellent points that most people overlook. As impractical as it seems at first glance, the best post-apocalypse vehicles (barring an EMP scenario) would be el

Excellent points that most people overlook. As impractical as it seems at first glance, the best post-apocalypse vehicles (barring an EMP scenario) would be electric since scavenged solar panels could provide the energy source for generations without significant degradation. Scrounging for electricity-based energy generation is much more practical than petrol-based resources that degrade, need refining, etc. Batteries won't last as long as the solar panels, but as a personal observation, I've noticed that my parents hybrid Prius still has over 95% battery health after almost 15 years. High-quality batteries with well-engineered charge controllers have really impressive life spans in terms of maintaining their charge capacity!

unlmtd1 9y ago
A bicycle is by far the best post apocalyptic transport. Electric is worse than gas; at least the gas powered vehicle is lighter when its empty.
- KGIII 9y ago
  Technically speaking, an EV will be lighter when the batteries are discharged. Not that anyone is going to notice or appreciate the difference. Note: This has no impact on your argument. I only mention it because I love me some physics. Here's a citation, if you're curious: https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/34421/does-the-mass-of-a-battery-change-when-charged-discharged https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/34421/does-the-m... The short version is that it will have less mass when the battery is discharged. However, you're not going to be able to detect a difference on your bathroom scale. Again, this is being posted as a mere factoid and not meant to argue your point.
wwweston 9y ago
Out of curiousity -- how many people on HN have a faraday cage where they store stuff? Maybe a box/room/shed/garage? As prep for a Carrington Event or nuclear EMP scenario?
- DanBC 9y ago
  I used to have a small well made faraday cage for storing a laptop. (I was also using stupid fonts[1] that were meant to make TEMPEST harder, and FDE, and etc etc.) I don't do any of that any more, apart from the disk encryption. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.society.privacy/hJcuZfj4swo https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.society.privacy... https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/emsec/softtempest-faq.html https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/emsec/softtempest-faq.html
lucaspiller 9y ago
There’s two other major problems with EVs in a scenario like this. The first is charging it: consumer EVs expect an AC sine wave, so you’d need equipment to handle that. If you have a solar installation in a building you are probably ok, but it’s not something you can easily put together on scavenged parts. The other problem is generating the energy. Yes solar panels are a good energy source in an apocalyptic scenario, but the power they give out is really limited compared to fuel. 10m2 of solar cells will generate around 5kW per day (assuming no nuclear winter). With current EVs that would give you a range of around 10-15 miles once charging loses are taken into account.

unlmtd1 9y ago

A bicycle is by far the best post apocalyptic transport. Electric is worse than gas; at least the gas powered vehicle is lighter when its empty.

KGIII 9y ago
Technically speaking, an EV will be lighter when the batteries are discharged. Not that anyone is going to notice or appreciate the difference. Note: This has no impact on your argument. I only mention it because I love me some physics. Here's a citation, if you're curious: https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/34421/does-the-mass-of-a-battery-change-when-charged-discharged https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/34421/does-the-m... The short version is that it will have less mass when the battery is discharged. However, you're not going to be able to detect a difference on your bathroom scale. Again, this is being posted as a mere factoid and not meant to argue your point.

wwweston 9y ago

Out of curiousity -- how many people on HN have a faraday cage where they store stuff? Maybe a box/room/shed/garage? As prep for a Carrington Event or nuclear EMP scenario?

DanBC 9y ago
I used to have a small well made faraday cage for storing a laptop. (I was also using stupid fonts[1] that were meant to make TEMPEST harder, and FDE, and etc etc.) I don't do any of that any more, apart from the disk encryption. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.society.privacy/hJcuZfj4swo https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.society.privacy... https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/emsec/softtempest-faq.html https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/emsec/softtempest-faq.html

lucaspiller 9y ago

There’s two other major problems with EVs in a scenario like this. The first is charging it: consumer EVs expect an AC sine wave, so you’d need equipment to handle that. If you have a solar installation in a building you are probably ok, but it’s not something you can easily put together on scavenged parts. The other problem is generating the energy. Yes solar panels are a good energy source in an apocalyptic scenario, but the power they give out is really limited compared to fuel. 10m2 of solar cells will generate around 5kW per day (assuming no nuclear winter). With current EVs that would give you a range of around 10-15 miles once charging loses are taken into account.