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posted by Fnord666 on Monday February 26 2018, @12:12AM   Printer-friendly
from the shocking-news dept.

Car companies, starting with Volvo last summer, have laid out plans to electrify entire lineups of vehicles. But the fine print makes it clear that the coming decade and beyond will focus not just on massive battery packs powering electric motors, but also on adding a little extra juice to the venerable internal combustion engine.

Increasingly, that juice will arrive in the form of new electrical systems built to a 48-volt standard, instead of the 12-volt systems that have dominated since the 1950s. Simpler than Prius-type drivetrains and less expensive than Tesla-scale battery power, the new electrical architecture both satisfies the demands of cars made more power hungry by their gadget load and enables the use of lower-cost hybrid drive systems.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/business/electric-cars-48-volts.html


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by axsdenied on Monday February 26 2018, @04:06AM (12 children)

    by axsdenied (384) on Monday February 26 2018, @04:06AM (#643750)

    Can you please explain why engine running and alternator charging the battery will change anything. And please no insults, they really do not contribute to the discussion.

    And kids, don't listen to the anonymous coward either. Do some research and make an informed decision. Random people on the internet are usually NOT a good source of information.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @04:21AM (6 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @04:21AM (#643758)

    Battery holds only so much charge, it's basically a slow-discharging capacitor. Alternator is an electrical generator - it uses engine power to generate continuous electrical power. Battery gives you a short jolt, alternator/generator keeps feeding the current that can fry you.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @04:38AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @04:38AM (#643764)

      That's not how electrical current works.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Monday February 26 2018, @04:47AM

      by aristarchus (2645) on Monday February 26 2018, @04:47AM (#643767) Journal

      Some times I despair, when things like using Microserf Woerd is called "Computer Science, but the so-called STEM techies are ignorant of the most basic facts of physics. Batteries, hm, alternator!! Running car, with power! So you will get fried! Please, spare us.

      Interesting story, however. I knew one of the first owners of an automobile in the Territories. He would drive around from town to town, turn off his horseless carriage, and hand the coil wire to a local to hold while he turned over the engine with a crank. 10 Thousand Volts! Now that is a capacitor. No one died.
      Also, little know fact, when there were only two automobiles in the entire Territory, they managed to run into each other.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @08:51AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @08:51AM (#643829)

      Either learn the most basic fundamentals of electricity or get a lot better at bullshitting. You're awful at both.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @08:57AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @08:57AM (#643831)

      According to my mechanic, it takes 15 minutes of driving to recharge the battery after starting a car.

      That's 15 minutes for the alternator to supply the amount of power to the battery, that the battery supplied to the starter motor in a couple of seconds.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @10:35AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @10:35AM (#643874)

        The CCA on a starter battery is usually around 500 amps. A good alternator will put out 50 amps at 14 volts. Unless you are simultaneously running every electrical gadget in the car a few seconds of cranking the engine is going to be repaid in less than a minute of running.
        Your basic point is correct though, the battery can output far more than the alternator. 6000 watts vs 600 watts

    • (Score: 2) by axsdenied on Monday February 26 2018, @11:24AM

      by axsdenied (384) on Monday February 26 2018, @11:24AM (#643883)

      Please look up on wikipedia how electricity works. For your own sake.

      Few people have already told you that you are wrong and not a single person is agreeing with you. Just think about it for a few seconds before you write another comment.

      And stop insulting people, that puts you in the troll category.

      End of conversation.

  • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @04:53AM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @04:53AM (#643771)

    And kids, don't listen to the anonymous coward either. Do some research and make an informed decision. Random people on the internet are usually NOT a good source of information.

    Bite your tongue!

    Next you'll be telling us how Alex Jones, Rush, RT, The Daily Stormer and Breitbart are honest brokers of information, right?

    • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday February 26 2018, @06:34AM (2 children)

      by Grishnakh (2831) on Monday February 26 2018, @06:34AM (#643792)

      Next you'll be telling us how Alex Jones, Rush, RT, The Daily Stormer and Breitbart are honest brokers of information, right?

      WTF? Rush is a great band; what are they doing in this list? Some of Neil's views are naively libertarian, but otherwise they have a lot of great songs.

      • (Score: 1) by knarf on Monday February 26 2018, @09:08AM (1 child)

        by knarf (2042) on Monday February 26 2018, @09:08AM (#643836)

        Wouldn't that be Rush Limbaugh instead of the Canadian band?

        • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @04:29PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 26 2018, @04:29PM (#643998)

          Wouldn't that be Rush Limbaugh

          Someone forgot to bring their sense of humor to the keyboard again.

          But, truth be told, he's not really a New World Man [youtube.com], hell he's not even a Working Man [youtube.com], even if he's been seen in his Red Barchetta [youtube.com].

          That said, he certainly does love the Limelight [youtube.com]!

          Now look what you made me do!

  • (Score: 2) by KilroySmith on Wednesday March 07 2018, @02:05AM

    by KilroySmith (2113) on Wednesday March 07 2018, @02:05AM (#648822)

    The battery by itself will be 12V; when being charged by the alternator, it'll be about 14.4V. So about 2.4V more to push current through your body. Still not hazardous.

    And the battery is quite capable of putting out 10 times the current of the alternator.