Fuel Cell Cars

> Karl, you expressed interest in knowing if foreign auto makers would
After the moon landings and the first Arab oil embargo there was alot of

discussion about alternate fuels and the use of fuel cells (when in collage
such discussions go well with pizza and beer). Certain truths came out that no
amount of media BS will change.

1) Liquid hydrogen is an unstable explosive that will never make a safe
general purpose fuel. 2) Gaseous hydrogen is safe but is not dense enough to
be used as a fuel for anything but short run trips. 3) Until hydrogen can be
stabilized so that it will be safe to store under usual
     conditions (-20 F to +120 F temperature and -200 to + 5000 feet
elevation)
     and can let a reasonably loaded vehicle travel 250+ miles without
refueling it will never be a good general purpose fuel..

Some of the jokes that we came up with when referring to liquid hydrogen

were:

-What is the name for a liquid hydrogen fuel station - The Hindenburg.

- How do you know who owns a hydrogen car - He's the one who parks his
car 100 yards from his house (in front of your house).

- Why does hydrogen fueled cars reduce the number of medical injuries -
fewer survivors (you don't count the dead as injured).

At the time we came to the conclusion that as a substitute for natural gas (or
liquified natural gas LNG) hydrogen would work. As a fuel in specialized
vehicles (trains and maybe long distance trucking) it may work. As a general
fuel it would be more dangerous then it was worth.