3 ms·

Copper Mining and Vehicle Electrification

3 points by zolbrek 2y ago

westurner 2y ago
Graphene is an alternative to copper for very many applications: - "Researchers create first functional graphene semiconductor" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38870695 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38870695 - "Shattering the 'copper or optics' paradigm: humble plastic waveguides outperform" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39493373 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39493373 : >> Point2’s E-Tube provides a low-cost, low-loss broadband dielectric waveguide solution that could serve as an advanced alternative to existing electrical and optical interconnects in high-speed, short-reach communication links. It’s 80% lighter and 50% less bulky than copper cables, and could reduce power consumption and the cost of optical cables by 50%, with picosecond latencies that are three orders of magnitude better - /? Can graphene replace copper? https://www.google.com/search?q=Can+graphene+replace+copper https://www.google.com/search?q=Can+graphene+replace+copper - Graphene can be made from trash. Flash heating waste plastic hydrocarbons yields Hydrogen and Graphene. - Graphene can be made by lasering a fruit peel - "Global Room-Temperature Superconductivity in Graphite" (2023) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/qute.202300230 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/qute.202300230 - "Observation of current whirlpools in graphene at room temperature" (2024) https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj2167 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj2167 .. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40360691 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40360691
- westurner 2y ago
  FTA: > Just to meet business-as-usual trends, 115% more copper must be mined in the next 30 years than has been mined historically until now. To electrify the global vehicle fleet requires bringing into production 55% more new mines than would otherwise be needed. On the other hand, hybrid electric vehicle manufacture would require negligible extra copper mining. Presumably that's because the reference EV model(s) contain more copper than the reference hybrid model(s)? Which automotive designers have yet designed with copper reduction as an optimization objective? Why can't we build with graphene instead of copper today? Are there comparable ~nanolithography tools and methods for building computer chips out of graphene? Can power cables be made from graphene?

3 points by zolbrek 2y ago

Graphene is an alternative to copper for very many applications: - "Researchers create first functional graphene semiconductor" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38870695 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38870695 - "Shattering the 'copper or optics' paradigm: humble plastic waveguides outperform" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39493373 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39493373 : >> Point2’s E-Tube provides a low-cost, low-loss broadband dielectric waveguide solution that could serve as an advanced alternative to existing electrical and optical interconnects in high-speed, short-reach communication links. It’s 80% lighter and 50% less bulky than copper cables, and could reduce power consumption and the cost of optical cables by 50%, with picosecond latencies that are three orders of magnitude better - /? Can graphene replace copper? https://www.google.com/search?q=Can+graphene+replace+copper https://www.google.com/search?q=Can+graphene+replace+copper - Graphene can be made from trash. Flash heating waste plastic hydrocarbons yields Hydrogen and Graphene. - Graphene can be made by lasering a fruit peel - "Global Room-Temperature Superconductivity in Graphite" (2023) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/qute.202300230 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/qute.202300230 - "Observation of current whirlpools in graphene at room temperature" (2024) https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj2167 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj2167 .. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40360691 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40360691

westurner 2y ago
FTA: > Just to meet business-as-usual trends, 115% more copper must be mined in the next 30 years than has been mined historically until now. To electrify the global vehicle fleet requires bringing into production 55% more new mines than would otherwise be needed. On the other hand, hybrid electric vehicle manufacture would require negligible extra copper mining. Presumably that's because the reference EV model(s) contain more copper than the reference hybrid model(s)? Which automotive designers have yet designed with copper reduction as an optimization objective? Why can't we build with graphene instead of copper today? Are there comparable ~nanolithography tools and methods for building computer chips out of graphene? Can power cables be made from graphene?