Steam Electric Cars?

Question

Other than the heat issue whats wrong with electrically heated steam cars? Electric cars create resistance and heat in motors. Hydrogen cars are a bit far off. Gasoline is only 60-70% efficient and destroys the enviroment. Steam engines are known for being 85-99% efficient and because of the steam median resistance in the wiring wouldn't be a problem.

What's the problem?

Answer 1

Dude, I guess you're not going to pick me for saying this, but I've gotta do this to get things straight. Gas engines are not 70% efficient, they are at best only 25% efficient. Here's a reference:
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http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node=internal%20combustion%20engine
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And where do you get 99% efficiency for a steam engine? Even under ideal conditions, 50% efficiency is hard to achieve. Here's a discussion of steam engines and their efficiencies:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_engine
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The only motor technology that tops 90% efficiency is the electric motor. Here's a reference:
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http://www.psnh.com/Business/SmallBusiness/Motor.asp
(a chart showing that 25+ horsepower electric motors have efficiencies between 90 and 96%)
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The best use for the electricity is to drive an electric motor directly. Unfortunately, using it to heat steam would only waste at least half of the energy.
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And pure electric cars are ready right now - take a look at this one:
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http://phoenixmotorcars.com/models/fleet.html
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The Phoenix electric pickup truck - this completely gas-free vehicle, using new, advanced Altairnano batteries - can:

-Travel up to 250 miles per charge
-Carry 5 passengers plus cargo at 95mph.
-Charges batteries in as little as TEN MINUTES.
-Has batteries that last 250,000 miles (never need replacement.)
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Answer 2

The problem is that a steam engine would have to be way too big and heavy to power a car (and it would still do a crappy job, despite its efficiency). And their efficiency is actually a measure of how much energy they output compared to the energy input, but that's using a steam engine that burns coal or wood... using engine heat wouldn't be nearly enough, and burning wood inside your car? I think not!
And if you used batteries to generate the heat, the electricity had to come from somewhere... and you'd have to stop every 10 miles to refill your car with water. Too many problems...

Ethanol is the answer!

Answer 3

How do you store the massive amounts of electricity to create the steam and if you use batteries, how tdoyou generate the electricity to charge them ?