IEEE Spectrum November, 2007 - 2

the back story

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Contributing Editors

Susan Hassler, s.hassler@ieee.org
Glenn Zorpette, g.zorpette@ieee.org
Elizabeth A. Bretz, e.bretz@ieee.org
Harry Goldstein (Web), h.goldstein@ieee.org
Jean Kumagai, j.kumagai@ieee.org
Tekla S. Perry, t.perry@ieee.org
Philip E. Ross (Resources), p.ross@ieee.org
William Sweet, w.sweet@ieee.org
Steven Cherry, s.cherry@ieee.org
Samuel K. Moore (News), s.k.moore@ieee.org
Erico Guizzo, e.guizzo@ieee.org
Sandra Upson, s.upson@ieee.org
Willie D. Jones, w.jones@ieee.org
Joseph N. Levine, j.levine@ieee.org
Alan Gardner, a.gardner@ieee.org
Ramona Gordon, r.gordon@ieee.org
Nancy T. Hantman, n.hantman@ieee.org
Sarah Adee, s.adee@ieee.org
Francesco Ferorelli, f.ferorelli@ieee.org
Morgen E. Peck, m.peck@ieee.org
Joshua J. Romero, j.j.romero@ieee.org
John Blau, Robert N. Charette, Peter Fairley,
Alexander Hellemans, Jen Lin-Liu,
Robert W. Lucky, Paul McFedries,
Kieron B. Murphy, Michael Riordan,
Carl Selinger, Seema Singh, John Voelcker

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Senior Art Director Mark Montgomery

Assistant Art Directors Laura H. Azran, Brandon Palacio

Photo Editor Randi Silberman
Director, Periodicals Production Services Peter Tuohy

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Web Production Coordinator Jacqueline L. Parker
Web Production Specialist Michael Spector

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editorial advisory Board

Susan Hassler, Chair; Marc T. Apter,
Alan E. Bell, C. Gordon Bell, Francine D. Berman, Emmanuel Desurvire,
Hiromichi Fujisawa, Kenneth Y. Goldberg, Susan Hackwood, Erik Heijne,
David H. Jacobson, Christopher J. James, Ronald G. Jensen, Mary Y. Lanzerotti,
Tak Ming Mak, David A. Mindell, Fritz M. Morgan, Leslie D. Owens, Barry L. Shoop,
Larry L. Smarr, Harry L. Tredennick III, Sophie V. Vandebroek, Ba¸sak Yüksel
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Peter Fairley

Unintended Consequences

When IEEE Spectrum contributing editor Peter
Fairley heard of a new electric vehicle that could
recharge its battery in less than 10 minutes, he
was intrigued [see "California to Rule on Fate of
EVs," in this issue].
Even the best-performing electric cars are
notorious for their short range and long charging
times. The potential of rapid charging seemed to
address both problems by making long trips possible via quick pit stops.
Once he began talking to experts in the industry, however, Fairley encountered many skeptics
who questioned the technology's usefulness-
to charge that fast, the battery needed half a megawatt of electricity. An electric "charging station"
with several cars plugged in would require more
than "your typical power line," says Fairley.
He found that the new batteries were a perfect example of the unintended consequences
of technology regulations. Practical or not, the
rapid-charging batteries seem to qualify for
incentives that the California Air Resources
Board intended for fuel-cell vehicles.
"This story is about the challenge and complexity of trying to mandate technological development," says Fairley. Enterprising companies often
find loopholes in regulations without providing
the kinds of advances regulators expect.
Despite the inherent limitations of technology
mandates, Fairley thinks they may be the best
option available to deliver the advances required
to confront climate change.
"There's a huge range of clean technology available and ready," says Fairley. "The problem is getting it into the market."
n

citing articles in ieee spectrum
IEEE Spectrum publishes two editions. In the international edition,
the abbreviation INT appears at the foot of each page. The North
American edition is identified with the letters NA. Both have the same
editorial content, but because of differences in advertising, page
numbers may differ. In citations, you should include the issue designation. For example, the first Resources page is in IEEE Spectrum,
Vol. 44, no. 11 (INT), November 2007, p. 43, or in IEEE Spectrum,
Vol. 44, no. 11 (NA), November 2007, p. 49.

November 2007 | IEEE Spectrum | NA

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org http://www.spectrum.ieee.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum November, 2007