myth buster
2009-06-27 11:12:38
31. What we have here is a slight of hand. True, batteries and electric motors can accomplish a nearly 100% of energy transformation from electricity to kinetic, but current batteries lose 90% of the energy that is used to charge them. Now, it may be that this design intends to cut those losses in half, which would make all the energy transactions CONNECTED TO THE CAR more efficient than an ICE. However, that does not take into account the thermodynamic energy losses AT THE POWER PLANT, which cost 60-70% of the energy from the fuel. Now, if the issue is eliminating fossil fuels, then that can be accomplished by switching to batteries, but only if we use nuclear power.
