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From: Dale.Amon%CMU-RI-FAS@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: More of same
Message-ID: <12324@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 11-Aug-84 17:08:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.12324
Posted: Sat Aug 11 17:08:59 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 14-Aug-84 01:29:41 EDT
Lines: 39

Item #1:

The solar electric car may well be an idea whose time is coming. I can name
two other recent MAJOR contributing breakthroughs:

	1) Polyacetylene batteries
	2) The new magnet materials

The batteries should be available fairly soon; I think Allied Electronics is
supposed to market them. They have about an order of magnitude imporvement
over lead-acid in kw-hr/lb, and are at least as rechargeable.

The new magnetic material is about double (?) the field strength of the
current best available, and is not expected to be terribly expensive. It is
expected to lead to improved starter motors. I suspect it may also improve
good old electric motors for the wheels.

I do wonder if anyone has a solution to the low end torque problem; maybe a
flywheel? I do enjoy taking out a sportscar and laying rubber in the first
three gears...

We'll know it's really here to stay when an elcetric car beats an Offie at
Indy.


Item 2:
The russians may finally be considering serious use of women astronauts, but
I can't help feeling a nagging doubt when I look at the originally published
NASA launch schedule for this year and notice that an american women was
scheduled for a spacewalk in August, and Sally Ride was scheduled to go up
again. Funny thing that the Russian's did both so shortly before those
original dates...

#Item 3
I wonder if it has crossed anyone else's mind that if the Russians are
indeed going for a full year, then April of this year may just be one of the
most significant dates in the history of the earth:

	The last day in history when human life was not present in space.