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This is why the idea of the public using hydrogen cars is kind of crazy.
by someguydave 3y ago
This is why the idea of the public using hydrogen cars is kind of crazy.
- kylec 3y agoJust wait until you hear about this explosive fuel called "gasoline" that is quite popular for powering cars too
- jjoonathan 3y agoCompressed gas at 200atm is a different kind of explosive.
- bell-cot 3y agoGasoline is an easily-contained liquid. Gasoline-vapor/air mixtures explode under relatively limited circumstances. Vs. hydrogen is a difficult-to-contain gas, the concentration range for hydrogen/air to be explosive is extremely wide, and triggering the explosion is extremely easy.
- spookie 3y agoWhile I do not argue the explosive nature of it, safety can be improved by embracing how fast it disperses. Think Toyota went that path with interleaved fibers in their containers' outer enclosures, to augment that effect, so it isn't sufficient for an explosion to occur. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVeagFmmwA0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVeagFmmwA0 (Edit: added Toyota's test where they shot an hydrogen tank, you can see the fibers and the gas dispersion)
- bell-cot 3y agoTrue. But a hydrogen / air mixture is explosive from 4% hydrogen to 74% hydrogen, Americans love their attached garages, and most attached garages feature a perfectly-placed electric spark detonator...er, I mean electric garage door opener...which is triggered daily.
- spookie 3y agoFair
- abakker 3y agoever watched someone extinguish a cigarette in gasoline? it's explosive, but in a narrow band of conditions.
- glitchc 3y agoYou've been watching too many movies. MythBusters tested this. A pool of gasoline will extinguish a cigarette dropped in it every time.
- Qwertious 3y agoNot really - hydrogen shoots straight up into the atmosphere, whereas petrol both pools in the area and also turns to gas and mixes with air quite easily (which is why it's used as a fuel in the first place) In practice, hydrogen cars are quite safe. They're just not worth the cost in infrastructure and lack of efficiency compared to BEVs.
- bell-cot 3y ago> ...hydrogen shoots straight up into the atmosphere... Two words: Attached Garage
- GravitasFailure 3y agoIt also depends on storage method. Cryogenic and compressed hydrogen have extreme risks completely unrelated to the flammability of the gas itself, while various metal hydride options are mostly a danger if you drop the tank on your foot.
- mattashii 3y ago> They're just not worth the cost in infrastructure and lack of efficiency compared to BEVs. Don't BEVs weigh more than hydrogen cars, given the same model and range? That would give at least some incentive to use hydrogen over BEV, as it decreases road wear, which reduces the costs associated with the operation of that car. Additionally, hydrogen cars could be considered safer once they've gotten into an accident, as risk of battery thermal runaway wouldn't usually be an issue for extended periods of time in hydrogen cars, whereas several car carrier ships have been lost due (in part or in full) to battery fires.
- zdragnar 3y agoEven if car registration was taxed completely commensurate with their road wear (i.e. weight) the difference wouldn't be enough to move people over from BEV given the lack of refilling options. Gas still has the infrastructure, but batteries are closer to having what they need than hydrogen for critical adoption. Unless you're in the upper Midwest and your car is one of those stuck at a charger unable to fast charge because it's too cold and you didn't have an hours worth of time and energy to preheat it.
- flextheruler 3y agoRight since we haven’t already used an equal or even more so flammable substance for the past century As far as I’m aware gasoline ignites at much lower mixtures of oxygen than hydrogen. The Hindenburg can’t hurt you and if it was filled with gasoline vapors instead of hydrogen, well it would never get of the ground, but it would have been more dangerous.
- phkahler 3y agoNope. Hydrogen is not just flammable, the article tells you it is EXPLOSIVE at concentration of 4 percent to 74 percent in air. If the Hindenburg was a hydrogen-air mixture, it would have leveled a large portion of the area rather than just burning where it fell. I've worked in areas where they were developing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles at major auto makers. The facilities are equipped with collectors, detectors, and alarms, and everyone knows to GTFO if the alarm goes off. Hydrogen leaks indoors are extremely dangerous.
- foobarbecue 3y agoHydrocarbon-air mixtures are also "EXPLOSIVE". See, e.g thermobaric weapons. Possibly what you're trying to say is that it's easier to get the air in? Or that it's stored under pressure?
- thsksbd 3y agoThe point is that, as scary as gasoline is, the explosive mixture is quite narrow compared to H2. Add in a minuscule spark energy and H2 is no joke
- foobarbecue 3y agoAh, I see, that's true.
- bell-cot 3y agoAnd gasoline is very easily contained. And leaks are visually obvious. And the vapors form & accumulate very slowly. Hydrogen has zero of those safety virtues.