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In all energy storage tech, you're trading off energy density (eg. energy per kilogram) against power rating (energy per second that you can transfer). Then you
by sfifs 6y ago
In all energy storage tech, you're trading off energy density (eg. energy per kilogram) against power rating (energy per second that you can transfer). Then you have trade-off considerations like safety, emissions (which have a value - see Tesla P/L), production cost, supply chain etc. For different use cases, different trade-offs may work out.
Lithium battery tech typically trades off power rating and energydensity (Earlier - how much acceleration and range, nowadays with better batteries - how fast you can fill up) for other benefits.
This tech prioritises safety and power rating at some production cost and supply chain.
Gasoline gives emissions and engine complexity vs other conveniences
Rockets prioritize both power and energy density over everything else and uses LH2 and LOX dealing with cryo complexity
- eru 6y agoIon engines are another interesting technology. They are almost the opposite of rockets: very low power and very low force, but great energy density. Keep in mind that both rockets and ion engines actually have fairly low realized energy density, because they can't just rely on atmospheric oxygen.