3 ms·

I really don't get it, if batteries are too expensive and bulky to get +500 km out of a car, what kind of range can you get with a plane?? Wouldn't it add a ri

• Arnt 8y ago
  Read the article. Key quote. “A lot of the flights here are only 15 to 30 minutes.” Those planes don't go 500km. They go up, fly a short stretch over some complicated terrain, down. That's it. As to why: Kerosene isn't really an option any more. We have a climate problem, and in this generation, not some future generation.
  • outworlder 8y ago
    > A lot of the flights here are only 15 to 30 minutes. And yet you need to keep at least that flight time as a minimum safe reserve.
• microcolonel 8y ago
  Yes, and the physics of it are even worse than you imagine. If you don't mind a voice/video explanation of this, I found this one worked for people I know [0]. In the air, there is a cascading relationship between the requirements for lift, and the weight of the fuel (batteries). Batteries being, by weight, at least between 40 and 100x times less energy dense than Kerosene, the weight of batteries competing with Kerosene multiplies the real amount of energy required to transport aircraft. This relationship doesn't hurt so much on the road, since there is generally not much need for lift, and also since there is a straightforward way of recovering the increase in inertia. [0]: https://youtu.be/VNvzZfsC13o https://youtu.be/VNvzZfsC13o