cars
Daytime Running Lights, or Reduced Speed?
27/05/08 14:25 Filed in: General
Science
Which wastes more fuel? (and thus produces more
carbon dioxide). This is a difficult to question to
answer for a variety of reasons. The main reason is
that a speed change from 71 mph to 70 mph is
different than a reduction from 56 to 55 mph.
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Time, Speed, and Money
26/05/08 16:33 Filed in: General
Science
I try to stress to people that driving faster on
shorter trips doesn't really make THAT big of a
difference in time. Also, you can save money by
driving slower. This was essentially the idea behind
my optimal commuting speed
calculator. The problem is that this
calculator doesn't really work if you don't get
paid by the hour. I decided to make a graph
anyway that shows the decrease in your
efficiency (and thus increase and how much you
spend on gas) at the same time showing how much
time you save. That way, you can use your own
weighting of the importance of time.
For this graph, I used an efficiency of 25 miles per gallon when driving 70 mph. The trip distance is 20 miles and the cost of gas is $4 per gallon.
You can see going 90 mph instead of 50 mph save you 10 minutes, but cost more than $2.50 dollars MORE than going 50 mph.
For this graph, I used an efficiency of 25 miles per gallon when driving 70 mph. The trip distance is 20 miles and the cost of gas is $4 per gallon.
You can see going 90 mph instead of 50 mph save you 10 minutes, but cost more than $2.50 dollars MORE than going 50 mph.
Model for Fuel Efficiency as a Function of Speed
22/05/08 10:30 Filed in: General
Science
It has been a while since I have looked at efficiency
models, but I am still interested. I found
a site that calculates efficiency data based
on a number of factors such as:- Air drag-
Speed- Drive train power loss- Tire pressure
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How about power with less carbon dioxide
15/05/08 09:25 Filed in: General
Science
Everyone is concerned about power and carbon dioxide,
right? Well, maybe we should look at some alternative
energy sources. I previously proposed using the
rotation energy of the Earth, but that
didn't go over too well with the internet
community. How about people power?
Can people be used to produce power? Obviously. Do people produce carbon dioxide? Sure, its called breathing. Would we do better to use people? I don't know, but I will try to make some simple calculations. Read More...
Can people be used to produce power? Obviously. Do people produce carbon dioxide? Sure, its called breathing. Would we do better to use people? I don't know, but I will try to make some simple calculations. Read More...