Never going to happen. The energy density of kerosene is at least fifty times that of lithium cells. Even with ten fold advances in battery tech it's simply not going to be feasible.

So even in a post oil world, we'd have to synthesize longer hydrocarbons to fly, I'd think.

Uranium is similar in toxicity to lead, for what it's worth, disregarding radiation and decay products and whatnot.

I don't remember hearing anything about dumping lead on the thing? I can't see it as being worse than living within 1000mi of a smelter anyway. The smelter in sudbury puts out 150 tons of lead into the atmosphere per year. Radiation was definitely the main concern.

Bingo. If someone sets a GPS to go to the wrong location, you don't say the GPS had a embedded software problem.

More like a failure to double check settings or something.

So does Sodium. But do you notice how table salt doesn't burn in water?

There's no lithium metal in lithium /ion/ cells. The whole lithium catching on fire thing is to do with them having a rather volatile solvent as part of the electrolyte (something similar to ether).

Which is why they are trying to remove cars in Helsinki (LA), not in all of Finalnd (california).

North part of Finland has much lower density than parts of CA. I'd imagine a car is even more essential there.

Only modern, pressurized aircraft. Cave tech like the DC-3 are made of aluminium, have square windows, and have no problems. Even ones that have been flying for 70 years.

Historically cable lacing was done with waxed cotton. Since WWII more nylon and polyester, as they wear harder and don't burn as good, don't like water, etc.

I'd imagine NASA uses some kind of space age stuff.. polyimide or some sort of fluoropolymer, but who knows, maybe cotton has better extreme cold weather performance.

We'll run out of oil long before they ever get fusion working.

Dream on. What do you do when someone doesn't want you pulling cable across their property? (You won't be able to get the government to force them.)

It's besides the point really. Without government you'd be pulling the cable down a road made of mud and shit anyway.

No one designs cars to do that.

Yeah, because the only alternative to American style inequality is Soviet style inequality, right?

Slavs ran the show, if you didn't notice.

CA still out-manufactures every other state. second place is texas, Though CA has a bigger population.

It's had some decline in manufacturing, sure, but it's never going to be like detroit. Hell, even if they quit making things entirely - CA will never be detroit, between IT, hollywood, tourism, service BS, etc.

That's kind of a bullshit complaint. Do you currently plug your phone into a USB A to USB B adaptor, to a USB B to USB mini B adaptor, which is plugged into a USB mini B to micro B adaptor? (yeah, I skipped some USB variants).

No? then shortly you'll just have a USB micro C cable / charger, same as how you have a micro B cable / charger now.

I know, one more USB connector to have an adaptor for... But this is how the mini/micro and even old USB 'A' should have been from the beginning.

There's nothing worse than having to blind mate USB, and having to flip it four bloody times before it works. (except maybe blind mating 'F' connectors, or sometimes D sub..)