Month: May 2007

Most Cars Considered An Ethanol Vehicle

With the continued growth of the use of ethanol as a fuel additive for cars and trucks, there are a few people shunning the technology believing they will have to buy a new car once the blended gasoline is prevalent. However, there is a god chance that your currently vehicle sitting in your garage is already an ethanol vehicle.

All major automotive manufacturers have backed the use of E-10 ethanol in vehicles that burn regular gasoline and there has been no evidence that its use causes any harm or damage to the engine. An ethanol vehicle has shown no significant decrease in mileage, power or performance that those that run strictly on gasoline.

Actually, since ethanol burns cleaner than gasoline, it can actually help prevent deposits from building up on fuel injectors, helping to main the original gas mileage and avoid the loss of power typically seen in cars with high mileage. Gasoline refiners have altered their formulas over the years as basically any vehicle that burns regular gasoline can be considered an ethanol vehicle once an ethanol blend has been added to its tank.

Changes Needed For Biodiesel and Pure Alcohol

E-10 ethanol, a mix of 10 percent ethanol and gasoline, has little or no impact on the efficiency of a gasoline engine. However, for those wanting to operate their own still and run their car on straight alcohol, a few modifications will be needed. Things like input jets, main jet and air fuel mixture to turn it into a pure ethanol vehicle. Just do not drink the fuel.

There are several classes of race cars that burn pure alcohol and because of it being highly combustible, is not recommended in the family wagon with expert advice and direction. You can easily spot a pure ethanol vehicle, or more accurately smell one, as the burning alcohol has a distinct odor.

It has been said that diesel engines can run on just about any burnable liquid and they can for a while before something in the system gets gummed up. Running an unmodified diesel as an ethanol vehicle will harm the engine as ethanol burns significantly hotter than diesel, or corn oil, and can cause harm to the inner workings of the engine.

Modifications can be made without a lot of difficulty and there are conversion kits available, but currently many buses and trucks are using E-85 diesel, which is a blend of diesel fuel and 85 percent ethanol.

Street Lamp Has Grown In Brilliance

Most have witnessed Fred Astaire singing in the rain while dancing around a street lamp with Ginger Rogers but many do not realize the changes the lowly street lamp has undergone over its lifetime. From gas lights brightening the way along the walkways to the sodium filled arc light sources, the street lamp has come a long way since the late 1800 s.

In 1816, the city of Baltimore introduced gas street lighting, borrowing the idea from Britain, and lamp lighters were employed to travel the streets to light the lamps each night. Attala, Alabama became the first to use the electric street lamp in 1882, thanks to the new invention of Thomas Edison. In the early 19th century, a white way was considered a street that had street lights.

Some of the first electric street lamps were carbon arc lights, which cast a brilliant light and were useful in dock areas and other commercial facilities, but the brilliance of the light was not conducive to use in residential areas. Incandescent lighting, still widely used today, replaced the arc light, which also came with a high cost of maintenance.

Dangers Posed By Street Lamp Installation

While the benefits of the street lamp seem to be overwhelming for pedestrian safety, there are a couple of dangers posed by them, and the installation of street lamps usually take them into consideration. A bright street lamp can reduce a driver s night vision as the eyes automatically adjust to the presence of light.

When a person goes from a dark street into an area with street lights, their eyes make the adjustment and if plunged back into darkness when the street lights end, their eyes will take some time to readjust to the darkness. Additionally, the pole to which the street lamp is attached can become a crash hazard. They should be designed to break away on collision or be guarded by a guard rail or other device.

Light pollution is a common complaint, especially in residential areas where a street lamp may be placed close to a residence causing light to shine through windows. They also tend to shade the visibility of dim stars or other constellations, complaining complains from amateur astrologers living in a city setting.

Beacon lights are typically used at intersections to help motorists see the intersecting roads as well as street signs, while roadway lights are not intended to allow cars to travel without lights. Headlights are for that purpose, rather they are used to allow sight of hazards outside the normal view of the headlights.