Could Our Roads Someday Charge Our Cars?

There's now a new study in London, England that could drastically improve the range of electric cars by designing roads that can charge these cars while you're driving along them. If you're not fortunate enough to have a Tesla or live close to a supercharging station, then your electric car battery won't take you very far. Electric cars get 260 miles to a full charge, but a regular gas car can get you 300 miles or more.

Highways England announced that they will be doing an 18-month trial with charging lanes. Unfortunately, the testing will not be open to public roads for right now. Through these trials, vehicles will be fitted with wireless technology and roads will be installed with special equipment to simulate motorway conditions. The electricity will be generated by electric cables put under the surface of the roads that will generate electromagnetic fields, which then will be picked up by a coil inside the device.

This trial will start later on this year and we'll get the full scoop after a contractor has been chosen for the job. Then following with actually using this project on real roads. Transport Minister Andrew Jones says that "the government is already committing £500 million over the next five years to keep Britain at the forefront of this technology."

Highways England's Chief Highways Engineer Mike Wilson says, "Vehicle technologies are advancing at an ever increasing pace and we’re committed to supporting the growth of ultra-low emissions vehicles on England’s motorways and major A roads. The off-road trials of wireless power technology will help to create a more sustainable road network for England and open up new opportunities for businesses that transport goods across the country."

Don't mistake this trial as being the first. There's a 7.5-mile road stretch in South Korea, that charges up electric buses as they drive, using a process called Shaped Magnetic Field in Resonance (SMFIR). There's also a trial in Milton Keynes, England that shows buses being charged wirelessly through plates in the road. The only downside with this one was the buses had to stop moving to be able to charge.

This new scheme in London is way more ambitious and has a lot of positive potential in changing the electric car scene. Although there's been some skeptical questioning on this trial being efficient or just a waste of money, there's always room for battery technology improvements, so maybe these roads won't even need to be used in the future. No matter what, I think it could be a fun trial and could possibly be a big part of the world's future in new technology.

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United Kingdom Most Popular Travel Destination in 2011

2011 is over and 2012 has begun! The old year went out with a bang, the same way the new year started, but just because 2011 is over doesn't mean that it is forgotten. Citizens of Planet Earth did a lot of traveling last year to places all over the world but only one place could top the list as the most popular travel destination of 2011. While you may think that places like the Caribbean, the Bahamas or some other tropical place would be the most popular, it seems most travelers disagree because the most popular travel destination of 2011 was Britain, according to a study done by Expedia.

Travel to Britain saw a 10% increase in 2011 over 2010 and it appears as if the trend of domestic breaks is poised to continue strong in 2012 as well. Lots of new things to do in the region, like local culinary tours and cooking classes, as well as the increase in local bicycle shops, like Boris Bikes in London, are encouraging people to explore the country in new and exciting ways.

Andy Washington, Managing Director of Expedia UK and Ireland, stated, "It has been an eventful year for the travel industry and a tough year for certain popular travel destinations, but we've noticed time and time again that people tend to forego their annual holiday. It's encouraging to see that Brits are taking advantage of the multitude of attractions closer to home in the UK and embracing 'staycations'. 2011 has highlighted the mixed approach to holidaying taken by Brits in troubled times."

Washington also added, "As some are drawn to holidaying at home, others simply look for alternative destinations - with Spain and Turkey particularly growing in popularity during the Arab Spring. The other notable trend was deal hunting - with savvy travelers taking advantage of the great deals to be had in destinations like Egypt and Japan as these destinations recover. Yet what's absolutely clear is our determination to keep our holidays."

Expedia's study listed the top 10 traveling destinations for 2011 as:

1. Southern UK regions


2. London


3. New York


4. Paris


5. Las Vegas


6. Rome


7. Amsterdam


8. Barcelona


9. Regional Northern France


10. Edinburgh

Trends are supposed to continue strong into 2012, maybe because a vast majority of the population believes that the world is going to "end" this year. It seems that all these doomsdayers are trying to accomplish what they can before the Mayan calendar wipes us all out.

Source: Travel News - The UK topped most popular destination for travelers in 2011

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