Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffC
if yours' are like ours, then that's no hardship - we have pot holes with pot holes after the recent winter cold.....  but point taken ....  |
Well, we do have a
few more miles of road in the U.S. than Scotland. Our road maintenance demands are on an order of magnitude (or two) above most other countries, nothing to sneeze at...
Placing magnetic poles in the highways to charge the batteries would likely create drag. It may extend range, but it wouldn't be enough to keep the car charged. Sooner or later, you're pulling over and recharging. A range extender such as an exchangeable trailer or battery pod would probably be a better choice. If it will allow at least 2-300 miles' range for a vehicle, it will be comparable to existing vehicles, and the public wouldn't have to adjust to much of a change.
Actually, a better option for road improvement would be installing basic devices that would allow cars to track the road with sensors, and enable fully-automatic driving. Simple reflectors or reflective paints could be put down for minimal cost, and the cars' sensors would do most of the work in tracking the roads, comparing against GPS and map data, and navigating the car. (As much as cutting down on environmental impact, we need to address the incredible number of fatalities caused by autos.)