July 16 2021 - Electricity on the Road

 

There are many recipients of the " Darwin Award".  The recipients themselves give rise to the generosity of the disbursement.  I wondered about two things after yesterday's power lines post.  The Darwin awards for electricity and when the first Darwin award will involve an electric vehicle.   That's right, I am looking today for the future Darwin winners when it comes to electric vehicles.  How will things go with electric cars?  Where will the occurrence happen?  Will it be charging the EV, trying to reduce costs with strange replacements? Testing the range in strange ways?  No - I think that we should look to water.   Definitely water. Q: "Will I get shocked if I drive an electric car through a big puddle?" A: "There's one danger you might not expect from mixing water and electric cars together. If water comes in contact with the nickel-metal hydride in the battery cells, the resulting chemical reaction forms hydrogen. If enough hydrogen builds up, it could cause disorientation and dizziness, and it could also lead to an explosion. This is really only an issue for rescue crews who have to deal with ruptured batteries, and they can easily handle it by properly ventilating the wreck."  This extract from auto.howstuffworks.com    Q: Is it safe to drive an electric car in a flood? A: "Regardless of whether it's an electric car or one with an internal-combustion engine, it is never safe to drive on a flooded road. Electric cars have significant protections built in to reduce the chances of electrocution, and there are measures to make sure components do not become contaminated by moisture, but full submersion is a different story. Even if you drive into a flood by accident you likely won’t die from electrocution in an EV. But, just be smart and don't drive into any sort of deep water in any vehicle. This last article says it all:: "A stunning video released from a Jaguar representative has shown how effective electric machines can be wading through deep water. In the clip, a Jaguar representative cleared several metres of floodwater in his Jaguar I-Pace car with relative ease. The Jaguar representative even claimed the company’s electric I-Pace vehicle had the same wading depth as a Land Rover Defender and could easily tackle brutal winter elements. Usually, electricity and water do not mix but electric cars are the exception and are claimed to be completely safe in even the most extreme weather conditions."  That article is HERE at the UK Express.  I suggest we stay tuned, it won't be long. I bought this Iris Pseudata Yarai at Cole's this week.  Pseudata Iris are a cross between Iris pseudocorus and Iris ensata ("pseudata" is combination of both names).  I recognized right away that it was related to Japanese Iris - that's ensata.  Pseudocorus is the yellow flat bog iris.

A Bit of Darwin

I was looking through the pictures from our 2009 trip to Australia for some garden images to enter in a contest.  I found this image of a sculpture in the Sydney Botanical Garden that is inscribed with Darwin's words.  Darwin visited this garden on his travels.  This was a celebration in 2009 with the mirrored sculptures forming the name Darwin, and were a celebration of the 200th anniversary of his birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book, On the Origin of Species. 

Charles Darwin's observations of Australian floral and fauna during his visit in 1836 formed a key part in the development of his theory of evolution through natural selection and his subsequent publishing of Origin of Species.