technologies cont'd

the 21st century. It can be used as
a liquid or gas to power a fuel cell,
or burned directly as a fuel. [In
most applications it burns with
Negligible pollution, producing
largely water as exhaust. It is
abundant, and contains more
energy for a given weight than any
other chemical.

Unfortunately, other inherent
characteristics make hydrogen dif-
ficult to use today. It is expensive
to liquefy, and containers to store
it as a compressed gas are huge
and unwieldy. Currently, metal
alloys that can store hydrogen
among their molecules hold great
promise. These require more
research, however before they will
be commercially viable. Despite all
of its attractive features, hydrogen
remains a fuel of the future.

Electricity, an energy source
already in use, holds great poten-
tial for the future. Electrical pro-
pulsion is most attractive where a
dedicated track system can be in-
stalled with a third rail to provide
the power. Since there are virtually
no polluting emissions, electricity
is often used in subways for mass
transit.

One of the most advanced elec-
trical vehicle designs will be in use
during Expo 86 in Vancouver. The
Urban Transportation Develop-
ment Corporation of Toronto has
installed the advanced light rapid
transit (ALRT) system, which has
no moving parts aside from the
train itself.

Each car has two electric motors
in which the rotors have been
replaced with an alloy plate
suspended beneath the car.
Another plate runs between the
rails. Electric current flows
through the two metal plates
creating propulsive magnetic
fields. Cars stop or go depending
on the frequency of the current.
The Department of Regional In-
dustrial Expansion presented its
1985 award of excellence to the
ALRT Skytrain.

Electric automobiles have some
devotees in Canada as well. The
Electric Vehicle Association of
Canada is planning a rally in Ab-
botsford, B.C. during the summer

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of 1986; the vehicles will later be
displayed at Expo 86. The queen
of the fleet will be a Canadian-
built Chrysler minivan using as a
fuel source a high-energy, sodi-
um-sulphur battery produced by
Powerplex of Toronto.

The van can travel about 200 km
between recharges and has no
trouble with harsh Canadian
winters because the battery
operates at 360°C; the ambient
temperature has little effect on its
power. If this van is successful, it
may pave the way for future elec-
tric vehicles in Canada. Great Bri-
tain already has about 33,000 light
delivery trucks operating on bat-
tery power.

Vehicle design changes have also
been nibbling away at fuel con-
sumption, Designers are taking
automobiles into wind tunnels to
test their designs. The resulting

cars slip effortlessly and quietly
through the air while safely hugg-
ing the road. Even the mammoth
tractor-trailer trucks are beating
the wind. The edges have been
smoothed with space-age plastics
te reduce wind resistance.

Aircraft designers as well have
begun searching for ways to reduce
the crippling costs of fueling air-
craft. Tomorrow's airplanes may
have thousands of tiny holes in the
wings to defy the turbulence that
drags energy out of the plane.

All of these vehicles, whether
roadbound, trackbound, or in the
sky, are being transformed by the
microprocessor. Electronic sensors
located throughout a vehicle will
transmit information to computer
chips. Automobile engines will
know when to ignite the fuel ac-
cording to a fuel knock index
measured in a millisecond by an

onboard computer. Planes will
tespond to a pilot’s command after
evaluating it with their own infor-
mation. Cars will change gears
with the sensitivity of a racing
driver without the driver’s knowl-
edge.

All of

these technological

From the time humans first learned how to walk, we have
constantly been looking for new and better means of
mobility — and new sources of energy to make our
mobility even more efficient.

At Expo ‘86 in Vancouver this year, you can see
Canada’s first magnetically powered rapid transit
system. You can also find out more about alternative
fuels for your car, such as propane, natural gas,
and even alcohol. And an entire fleet of electrically
powered vehicles will visit Expo ‘86.

What's next? Who knows. That's the purpose of
this special feature on transportation technology:
to keep you informed and up to date on current
technology and the future of transportation energy.

Rea

it. You'll be surprised to find out what's

coming...perhaps sooner than you might think.

It pays to be informed.

changes have a united goal: with
wise use of our energy resources,
to maintain our present standard
of living with minimal damage to
our environment. Many of them
offer great promise for future
transporation in Canada and
throughout the world.