The tests continue on our guinea pig cells. We've completed 50 discharge cycles on 'old silver'. It's in the middle of a slow discharge test with periodic internal resistance samples - 30 minutes down, 4 1/2 hours to go. We'll post internal resistance results for our most experienced cell once we've worked thru the numbers.
We've also gotten requests for a look at the equipment we're using to perform these tests. Thank you for the requests - your reviews are on their way!
We'd like to depart from tech for a couple of minutes and talk about one of the reasons we're interested in LiFePO4 cells and their support. Thanks for your indulgence as we editorialize a bit.
We've just finished watching a couple of clips from C-SPAN. The latest is a short discussion of the connectedness of energy, food, and water in both the global and US economy. Here's a link to the main C-SPAN energy page. Scroll down to the 'Recent Programs' area and look for the "Clinton Global Initiative Conference" from September 25th. This talk, moderated by Tom Brokaw, was a conversation with Bob Zoellick, President of the World Bank, Shimon Peres, President of Israel, T. Boone Pickens, Chairman & CEO of BP Capital Management, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, leader of the Danish Social Democratic Party, and Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco.
One point we came away from was the reminder that it's very difficult or impossible in a complex and interconnected system to solve only one problem at a time. It's sort of like medical triage in a way. Basic first aid reminds us to scan the area for immediate threats first, then move quickly to check airway, breathing, and circulation. We can get to broken bones a bit later.
If an accident victim is found unconscious, not breathing, and bleeding from an artery, we have to work on controlling the bleeding and do something about getting oxygen into the system in short order. Focus on either problem while ignoring the other virtually ensures 'mission failure'.
Put another way - if you find yourself in a hole, the first step is to stop digging.
As we prepare this, our representatives in Washington DC are working on the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008". One of the numbers we hear is that it will cost the US Government at least 700 billion dollars to stabilize things and restore confidence in the economy, credit system and stock market.
$700 billion is an interesting number and one we've heard before - from Texas oilman Boone Pickens. He reminds us in his advertisements and on the Pickens Plan website that we're spending around $700 billion each year for foreign oil. This money leaves the country and doesn't provide jobs or tax income.
We must have an energy plan in this country that helps us transition to renewable energy and helps us wean ourselves - the quicker the better - from petroleum imports. We think groups such as Pickens' and the WE campaign are helping bring energy awareness into the US presidential campaign. We think it's all connected - energy, food supply, water, the economy, jobs, climate change, transportation - and that the ability to solve these challenges is ours. We've proven in our past that with a plan and desire we can climb great heights.
There's discussion by some that we need a "Manhattan Project" of sorts for energy and the economy. Tom Brokaw referenced the '100,000 garages' concept attributed to author Tom Friedman while talking with Mayor Newsom in the interview referenced in paragraph four. I found that the reference is from Friedman's book Hot, Flat, and Crowded. Here's a quote from WIRED magazine:
"Twelve guys and gals going off to Los Alamos won't solve this problem...We need 100,000 people in 100,000 garages trying 100,000 things — in the hope that five of them break through."So...here we are, typing and listening to the battery analyzer's cooling fan cycle on and off as our test cell is poked and prodded. Which of you, of the interconnected 'us', will be one of Friedman's five to find solutions? What part, if any, will LiFePO4 play in our renewable future?
Enough of this for now - back in the garage!
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