Ilmet Project

The article, “Creating the System: Railroads and the Modern Corporation”, informs us all about the development of the transcontinental railroad and how it helped drive the nation west and also transformed western North America into a economy that had many opportunities. The railroads have always interested me when it comes to this period of time. What I learned from the reading that I didn’t know before was that the Western railroads were primary carriers of grain, other agricultural produce, livestock, coal, lumber and minerals. Also seeing the prices that the farmers shipped their products for, and what they paid for the freights rates was very interesting. Overall, if the railroads wouldn’t have been built in a time when there was so little

The Hydrogen Fuel Cell could revolutionize the world. This ingenious technology, which creates electricity from the chemical reactions of hydrogen and oxygen has, in its 150-year history, passed many of the critical tests along the path from invention to innovation. Recent developments in fuel cell technology and concurrent developments within the energy and automotive industries have brought the world to brink of the fuel cell age and the hydrogen economy.

railroad has allowed the rail industry to provide a more tailored service to its customers. It has also

“The iron rail, flanged wheel and puffing locomotive appeared in America by 1830. In the next twenty years the railroad brought a new dimension and added a new flavor to American transportation. The first railroads frequently helped American cities (and in turn were aided themselves) as they sought a larger share of western markets. (Stover, p10) As the canal craze was replaced with the rail craze, America once again found a means to connect north to south and east to west. Rails could do what canals could not; they could penetrate the dry arid areas, steep mountainous areas, span rivers, go up, over, or down under any impedance. But the penultimate advantaged was speed and time saved.

Railroads became extremely popular in America in the 1800’s. The railroad industry itself began to boom; it was supported by its reputation for speed and efficiency. But, along with the booming industry of railroads came the strong debate that

In this article “Why the Gasoline Engine Isn’t Going Away Any Time Soon,” Joseph B. White states that alternative energy cars could be the start of a revolution in the automaker world, however, complications interfere with the outcome. Although the author suggests different ideas on alternative vehicles, he contradicts himself numerous times while also lacking credibility of any sources.

Ever since California voters approved the construction of the Bullet Train in 2008 to connect the major urban and rural areas in between Northern and Southern California, there has a constant drum beat of critics who have dubbed it the “Train to Nowhere,” a pointed reference to a pork barrel project in Alaska that would, if built, have served more Caribou than people. In the case of the Bullet Train though, I wonder how some people’s limited thinking and imagination have clouded their ability to think big and act big. We used to think of ourselves as a country with grand ambitions and projects that awed the world, maybe it’s time to ask our grandparents to come back from retirement and show

The difference in the share of railways in the USA and the EU is due to the geographical distances between cities in the USA and the EU. Railways cost less to operate and have fewer emissions when compared to trucking. Yet, the use of railways is limited for the following reasons: (i) building its infrastructure is very costly; (ii) the long lead time required for developing the infrastructure; (iii) consistent-high-volume of the freight traffic is needed for economic viability; and (iv) the need for trucks for the distribution to the final destinations. Trucks have many advantages over other modes of transportation, especially that they provide last mile delivery. Trucks, as compared to railways, ships, or planes have the most flexibility in reaching a destination, and the upfront

Large engines that use combustible fuel usually drive trains, but electric trains are also being used around the world and have been for decades. Electric trains are used around the world most for transportation of people instead of goods. Their electric motors are powered from a receiver that remains in contact with a wire supplying the electricity that runs parallel with the train. Electric trains are more efficient, cheaper to run, and they can accelerate much faster than their previous predecessors (“Electric Locomotives, The Definition Of Efficiency,” n.d.). Future electric trains will be able to travel faster than ever before, and eventually they will be build all around the United States and other countries to provide extremely fast travel at cheaper costs (“Electric Locomotives, The Definition Of Efficiency,” n.d.).

Even though hydrogen as a fuel seems to answer every problem we want it to; it also has setbacks. Although we have the technology now to bring us an endless supply of hydrogen fuel we do not have the storage or infrastructure capabilities for it. “Hydrogen

Along with hover boards and flying cars, high-speed rail is one of the most iconic futuristic technologies discussed today. With great success, European and Asian countries such as Germany, France, Japan and China have been enjoying bullet trains for decades. Japan has been a leading innovator of high-speed trains, and has currently developed a train capable of 315 mph (Shadbolt). This MagLev is revolutionizing public transport and changing how the world view trains forever. The average European high-speed train can travel at speeds in excess of 220 mph (“The 10”). The United States is falling behind in this highly efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly high-speed train race. With the amount of traffic congestion between

Sustainable hydrogen Energy remains fundamental to economic development and welfare of society. To reach levels similar to those of developed countries being, many countries will need, and try to, increase their energy consumption. In addition, there is still a large number of people (more than a billion, according to estimates from the IEA) without access to advanced forms of energy, and will also contribute to increased overall consumption when achieved, hopefully, this access (Agbossou, et al., 2001).

A Case Study on the California High Speed Rail System (CAHSR) - Is It Feasible?

The hydrogen tanks today hold the hydrogen in a compressed form, which make the tank heavier. The drawback to that is that the car needs to be a certain weight to maintain popular fuel economy, so carrying a heavier tank is not an attractive offer for consumers or car manufactures. You can also free the hydrogen which is more convenient and has less weight. The downfall to that is the special insulation needed for the tank which makes the tank bigger and hence holds less fuel. In addition, the hydrogen tends to heat up when transferring the liquid to gas which will burn off some of the fuel. The current technology is centered within the storage of hydrogen in materials (Department of Energy, 2007). Researchers around the world are in a race to develop the most viable materials to hold the hydrogen. Storing the fuel in materials provides a higher quantity of fuel at a lower volume with less compression near room temperature. This will reduce the size of the storage area, weight, and solve the challenge of fuel burning off.

For the past three decades Oil dominates the agenda of political discussion. With scares over price volatility, sizes of reserves, international imports and least of which are the environmental impacts due to carbon dioxide and other emissions. Various speculations and educated guesses place our total depletion of crude oil within the next 50 years and there is a general consensus between environmentalists that we steer toward a hydrogen transportation system given the projected work and nonexistent carbon dioxide emissions (Environmental Technologies class lecture, Santa Clara University). However many barriers stand in the way of attaining such a goal, most of which pertaining