!!!INCOMING RANT!!!
Out of all the genres of science fiction I see, I have a particular affinity for steampunk. This isn't so much for the reason that it's almost as endangered a species as Cyberpunk and space dogfighter games, but moreover for the reason we already possess the technology for it.
We as a species and as a people have the technology to make a good share of the creations seen in Steampunk stories, movies, and artworks. But we don't. Why is this? The only conclusions I've been able to come up with are because it's cheaper and more compact to use alternative technologies such as electricity and internal combustion.
But these technologies, not to say they aren't magnificent in their own right, have inherent problems. If society collapsed, if our economy finally snapped instead of bending like it has been, where are you gonna get refined gasoline for your car? Sure you could distill some grain alcohol to run it off of, but when you consider the consumption versus growing and brewing rates, you would only be able to use your internal combustion vehicle on occasion. Plus you have the problem that burning straight alcohol is hard on the engine and would make it require nearly twice as much maintenance.
There's the old standby of Diesel and running it off vegetable oil, but you still need to find that or refine it, taking you back to square one, fuel availability. Sure while you're pillaging the scraps of humanity you'll have some fuel, but that stuff is gonna start running out and decaying, and those who hold it will start charging a lot for it and defending it with guns.
And the third and fourth options of our modern society fall hand in hand, hydrogen fuel cells and electric cars. Both of these are quite viable, would allow you a low profile, they don't generate much noise, and in general have lightweight fuel storage...but they need electricity, and a lot of it.
Generators are simple enough to make, you just need some lodestones, copper wire, and a spinning iron bar, they've had those since the dark ages, but how are you gonna regulate voltage? and for that matter, how many people know that by using zinc and copper anodes in an electrolyte solution that can be made with household ingredients can be used as a power storage medium? Or that by forcing electricity through salt water with extraction pipes and compressors over the cathodes you can harvest hydrogen and oxygen in their gaseous state? Not many I've met.
Solar panels would give you predictable voltage and wattage based on surface area and light levels, but they're more than a little rare. Plus all of the above options once an internal precision component breaks you're screwed, it won't run without it. Steam is an amazing alternative to this in that the level of precision, while still high, can be achieved with nothing more than a blacksmith's forge and a decent level of skill. Well, except the refined copper and piping, those would take specialty tools.
Steam power also has the benefit of being able to run on anything that burns and common, even non-potable, water. Seampunk is a type of technology that is apocalypse-proof. Sure, it's bulky, resource intensive, and not as efficient as modern tech, but to have something you can run off stuff laying on the ground, and that looks simply awesome, why wouldn't you?
I am Tanya Sapien, and I approve this message.
Out of all the genres of science fiction I see, I have a particular affinity for steampunk. This isn't so much for the reason that it's almost as endangered a species as Cyberpunk and space dogfighter games, but moreover for the reason we already possess the technology for it.
We as a species and as a people have the technology to make a good share of the creations seen in Steampunk stories, movies, and artworks. But we don't. Why is this? The only conclusions I've been able to come up with are because it's cheaper and more compact to use alternative technologies such as electricity and internal combustion.
But these technologies, not to say they aren't magnificent in their own right, have inherent problems. If society collapsed, if our economy finally snapped instead of bending like it has been, where are you gonna get refined gasoline for your car? Sure you could distill some grain alcohol to run it off of, but when you consider the consumption versus growing and brewing rates, you would only be able to use your internal combustion vehicle on occasion. Plus you have the problem that burning straight alcohol is hard on the engine and would make it require nearly twice as much maintenance.
There's the old standby of Diesel and running it off vegetable oil, but you still need to find that or refine it, taking you back to square one, fuel availability. Sure while you're pillaging the scraps of humanity you'll have some fuel, but that stuff is gonna start running out and decaying, and those who hold it will start charging a lot for it and defending it with guns.
And the third and fourth options of our modern society fall hand in hand, hydrogen fuel cells and electric cars. Both of these are quite viable, would allow you a low profile, they don't generate much noise, and in general have lightweight fuel storage...but they need electricity, and a lot of it.
Generators are simple enough to make, you just need some lodestones, copper wire, and a spinning iron bar, they've had those since the dark ages, but how are you gonna regulate voltage? and for that matter, how many people know that by using zinc and copper anodes in an electrolyte solution that can be made with household ingredients can be used as a power storage medium? Or that by forcing electricity through salt water with extraction pipes and compressors over the cathodes you can harvest hydrogen and oxygen in their gaseous state? Not many I've met.
Solar panels would give you predictable voltage and wattage based on surface area and light levels, but they're more than a little rare. Plus all of the above options once an internal precision component breaks you're screwed, it won't run without it. Steam is an amazing alternative to this in that the level of precision, while still high, can be achieved with nothing more than a blacksmith's forge and a decent level of skill. Well, except the refined copper and piping, those would take specialty tools.
Steam power also has the benefit of being able to run on anything that burns and common, even non-potable, water. Seampunk is a type of technology that is apocalypse-proof. Sure, it's bulky, resource intensive, and not as efficient as modern tech, but to have something you can run off stuff laying on the ground, and that looks simply awesome, why wouldn't you?
I am Tanya Sapien, and I approve this message.
FYI, electric energy storage is nowhere near as light as tank of gasoline, or a pile of coal. Batteries are heavy. Lithium polymer cells are pretty light, but you'll still get many more joules per pound with gasoline. Modern also batteries have shelf lives -- that brand new electric car will be a very interesting looking barn door stop after ten years, even if nothing breaks on it.
ReplyDeleteNone of the modern electric car technologies would be viable if society collapsed. The century old electric car technologies would, however, since they run on simple lead acid batteries, and don't need any complicated voltage regulation to charge. You just apply a high enough voltage, and turn it off when the batteries start venting hydrogen. They don't have anything special on the output side either, just some mechanical switches.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/jay-leno/vintage/4215940
I would go for a crude electric car over steam or anything else if society died -- they require pretty much no maintenance, and when the lead acid batteries finally start having issues holding a charge, they can be disassembled and refurbished. They have one major drawback: they are useless for long range travel. 70 mile range would be a feat without modern technology.
For long range though, get me a Doble steam car model E. If they hadn't gone out of business for being perfectionists, they'd probably still see use today.
valid point on the electric storage, I'll give you that. I hadn't thought about the batteries aging, I was more concerned with the immediate effects after a society collapse.
DeleteAnd resource availability was my major selling point on that, an electric car requires power, which unless you have folded up on the back would require a home base to charge it. A steam vehicle on the other hand can be refueled with fallen branches or river water. In a city setting drain water and furniture would serve just as well.
Most steam car designs run on liquid fuel in order to be compact. I don't know how viable powering them with wood would be, I suspect you'd need quite a lot of it, but then again some people power modern cars and with woodgas already, and there is no reason you couldn't do the same with a steam engine. It would be simpler to use wood directly, but it depends on how the engine is designed, reaching the proper temperatures and maintaining them would not be trivial when burning wood, because wood's characteristics change depending on the species, and how green it is. Even the size of the pieces will make a difference. Then again, any fire will probably make the engine move, which should be good enough to get you to the next town.
DeleteYou're quite right that electric would only be useful if you had some kind of home base, and the vehicle was only used for short trips. Without that electric becomes useless as a vehicle power source.