Electricity, by its very nature, is difficult to manage and store.  When it is created, it must be moved immediately to the location where it can be used.  When we need it, we expect it to be immediately available.  There is, as yet, no foolproof way to store it for future use. Because of its instability, scientists and engineers have been searching for a long time for a way to “stockpile” electricity against a time when it may be needed.  And even as this research progresses, the need for this type of technology grows.  The applications for reliable electricity storage abound. It all comes down to the need for a better battery.  In the case of electric vehicles, the lack of a “better” battery simply limits their range....

As if electric-powered vehicles aren’t futuristic enough, now comes word from GOOD, in a web article dated October 30, 2010, that two electric vans have just completed an 8,000 mile trip from Italy to China – without drivers! Using a system called the Generic Obstacle and Lane Detector (GOLD), the two vans pretty much drove themselves across two continents.  A system of laser scanners and video cameras worked together to make sure that the vehicles didn’t cause accidents, but in heavy traffic or at tollbooths, researchers had to step in for safety reasons. Will this technology be available to the general public soon?  Not likely.  Each vehicle had to be charged for 8 hours when it ran out of power, and they averaged just 38 miles per hour, taking...