With the power of the sun: the solar car from aptera

adminonApril 12, 2022February 4, 2022Leave a Comment

A futuristic vehicle rides in the sun on a palm-lined road

Aptera solar car: on the road in the USA at the end of 2021

Electric vehicles are now an integral part of the street scene. Fuel cell vehicles powered by hydrogen or natural gas have also been on the road in our cities for years. But so far there has been little talk of solar vehicles powered by the energy of the sun.

But that will soon change: if all schedules are met, the project is still to be at the end of 2021, the futuristic-looking aptera sol electric car will be launched on the market in the u.s. At a later, as yet undefined, date also in europe.

Autocycle with up to 1.600 kilometer range

Who this a vehicle reminiscent of the batmobile will probably think they’re in a science fiction movie: apart from the wing doors and the streamlined, extremely streamlined and with body with more than 180 solar cells the almost 4.40 meter long only three wheels on the roadtwo free-standing in the front, one in the middle in the back. Strictly speaking, it is not a car, but an autocycle – a hybrid between a car and a motorcycle. The body is not made of metal, but of robust carbon, kevlar and hemp.

This design, which is designed for a maximum of two occupants, and the lightweight construction save weight: with less than 900 kilograms the aptera sol weighs only as much as a gasoline-powered compact car. But you don’t have to worry about crash safety with this lightweight: according to aptera, the passenger cell of the sol is seven times stronger than one made of steel.

Cab or chauffeur? Your decision!

But there’s a small catch: if the sun isn’t shining, the solar cells don’t supply any energy. Then the battery kicks in, just like in a normal electric car. Thanks to its streamlined silhouette and low weight, however, the range is still impressive: equipped with the largest possible battery, the solar vehicle is said to be up to 1.600 kilometers come. But if you live in a sunny area and don’t drive more than 65 kilometers a day, you don’t need to tap the battery and can actually move your vehicle with the help of the sun’s rays alone.

Other solar cars under development

The sion from the munich-based company sono motors looks comparatively similar to a compact car today. Its solar cells are supposed to increase the range by up to 250 kilometers. market entry is planned for 2022, the costs amount to a good 25.000 euro.
the dutch start-up lightyear has designed the lightyear one, a solar car in the luxury segment. The coupe looks like a modern sports car and, thanks to the solar cells, can be driven for weeks or even months without a single power supply. However, mass production is not planned until 2024. In that case, the price of just under 180 euros that has been charged so far would also have to be.000 euros can still be corrected downward.

Aptera accelerates like a sports car

the autocycle was developed by the u.s. start-up aptera motors. Interested parties initially have the choice between a 100-kilowatt model with front-wheel drive, which is based on a maximum speed of 177 km/h (because it is governed) is to come, and a 150-kilowatt all-wheel-drive version. The latter accelerates faster to 100 km/h in a furious 3.6 seconds instead of 5.7 seconds, but does not increase its maximum speed.

The interior is kept simple, monitors replace rear and wing mirrors. The developers have developed a integrated tent that can be erected on the rear of the car – you have to come up with such ideas first.

Anyone who thinks that such a technical innovation must be a real drain on the wallet is in for a surprise: from as little as 22.000 euro the basic model is to be launched. With all the extras, the solar vehicle costs just under twice as much.

This surprisingly low basic price is due to the design: the vehicle consists of only four essential structural parts, which are produce in the 3D printer and plug together afterwards leave. For comparison: today’s everyday cars are made of about 300 such components.

A futuristic vehicle stands on rocky shore

Long waiting list for the aptera sol

If you can’t wait to have the aptera sol as your own, you should reserve it now for a small fee. However, as early as June 2021, there were more than 11.000 interested parties on the waiting list, of which 250 from germany. But the promise of never having to refuel or charge your car again in the foreseeable future is well worth the wait.

Extra tipamerican express cardholders are well covered when traveling worldwide. Transport accident insurance is included with the blue card and higher.

Friend or foe - when the immune system fails!

Autoimmune diseases are incurable and accompany affected individuals throughout their lives.

Acute inflammation is usually easy to diagnose and does not last long. The typical visible symptoms are redness, hyperthermia, pain, swelling, and functional impairment. But more and more people are affected by chronic inflammation these days. These spread rather unnoticed and often also insidiously in the body. The signs are less precise and often unclassifiable. These chronic inflammations also include the autoimmune diseases.

A cut, a mild sunburn, a harmless insect bite: the inflammation that can result is not a disease, but an immune reaction of the body. The body does everything it can to repair the damage caused by the disease. Inflammation is therefore a protective mechanism of the body’s immune system against pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, foreign bodies (e.g., bacteria, viruses, parasites). B. Dirt particles) and damaged cells. Once the healing process is complete, the symptoms subside and do not return.

Immune response in chronic inflammation

If the immune system does not completely banish the harmful germs from the body within a certain period of time, a harmless inflammation can quickly take a chronic course. Conjunctivitis, sinusitis and bronchitis, for example, belong to this secondary chronic form. Autoimmune diseases are also chronic inflammatory processes. However, they are not preceded by an acute inflammation, which is why they are referred to as primary chronic diseases. The best-known autoimmune diseases are:

Multiple sclerosis vulgaris
Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis

There are about 100 different types of primary chronic inflammation. Worldwide, 5 – 8 % of the population is affected by an autoimmune disease. Trend upward.

Autoimmune disease and its development

Special white blood cells – the T-lymphocytes – play a central role in the immune defense. They are already "trained" in childhood in the thymus gland so that they are able to distinguish between the body’s own and foreign, i.e. friend and foe. The immune system protects people from viruses, bacteria and parasites by recognizing and banishing all foreign substances. This mechanism fails in autoimmune diseases. This means that the immune cells attack and damage not only foreign structures, but also the body’s own healthy structures. It is not uncommon for the affected tissue or cells to lose all function in this mistaken attack. In the worst case, this can lead to a life-threatening condition.

What are the causes of autoimmune diseases??

Why some people develop an autoimmune disease and others don’t is not definitively clear – despite intensive research. There are recognized hypotheses that hereditary factors play a role in combination with external influences. Inherited genes can increase a person’s susceptibility to disease. If external influences such as infections, environmental pollution or drugs are added, this can promote a disease. Diet, pregnancy and changes in hormone levels may also influence the development of autoimmune diseases. This is one of the reasons why women are more frequently affected by autoimmune diseases.

How is an autoimmune disease diagnosed??

Often it is a difficult and lengthy process until the diagnosis of "autoimmune disease" is made. Based on the symptoms and findings, other diseases and infections are first ruled out in order. If there is a suspicion of an autoimmune disease, the doctor will determine the inflammation values by means of a blood test. Depending on the suspected disease, the blood is also tested for specific antibodies. Microscopic analyses are performed for intestinal or skin diseases.

Symptoms of chronic inflammation

Autoimmune diseases can attack many different organs and systems of the body. Therefore, the symptoms also differ from disease to disease. For some, they can be seen externally, such as changes in the skin. Others show themselves through the consequences of the destroyed cells, for example, with exhaustion or listlessness. Just about any organ can be affected by an autoimmune disease.

With the following unspecific complaints an autoimmune disease should be considered:

Recurrent episodes of fever
Chronic fatigue
Repeated infections

In addition, depending on the type of disease, specific symptoms such as:

Hair loss (even at a young age)
Joint pain
intestinal problems

Treatment of autoimmune diseases

Mostly only the existing symptoms can be treated. Depending on the disease, the corresponding therapies may therefore differ considerably. What is often used, however, are anti-inflammatory drugs or drugs that suppress the immune system – so-called immunosuppressants. These prevent further destruction of the body’s own tissue. The goal of drug treatment is to significantly reduce the symptoms and, in the best case, to bring the disease to a halt. The factors that influence the development of the autoimmune disease also play an important role in the therapy. Nutrition, environmental factors or stress should therefore be included in the treatment concept.

an autoimmune disease is not curable. The disease therefore accompanies affected persons throughout their lives. Early diagnosis and treatment is essential and of great importance. However, this requires the involvement of specialists from almost all fields, starting with general practitioners to specialists such as rheumatologists, nephrologists, psychotherapists, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, neurologists, pediatricians or dermatologists.

Many autoimmune diseases are now easily treatable and make life easier for those affected.

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Selling a car privately: Why the sales contract is so important

sales contract: that’s why it’s also important when selling a car privately

Selling a car without a sales contract? From a purely legal point of view, this is possible. According to § 433 of the German Civil Code (BGB), it is sufficient if you come to an oral agreement with the buyer, accept the money in cash and hand over the keys and papers – and the vehicle changes hands.

The disadvantage: without a sales contract, it is difficult to prove agreements made later on. Maybe the buyer wants to push down the price afterwards, pointing to suddenly found defects or assurances that you supposedly made. It is therefore better if a purchase contract contains all the important key data.

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Important data: this must be in the purchase contract

Since a purchase contract is not mandatory in a private car sales contract, you are also wording free from specifications. You can use a form that you only have to fill in, or write the contract yourself.

The basic data in the car sales contract

Personal data by buyer and seller:

name
Address
Date of birth
Identity card number

Data of the vehicle:

manufacturer and vehicle type
Official mark
Vehicle identification number (you will find it in the registration certificate part I, formerly known as the vehicle registration document )
Number of the registration certificate part II ( vehicle registration document )
Date of first registration
Date of the next due main inspection

Confirmation about documents received and money:

The buyer confirms that he has received the car together with the documents has: key, registration certificate part I and II, certificate of the last main inspection and if necessary. Other documents.
The seller confirms receipt of the purchase price (specify total).

The buyer should also undertake in the purchase contract to immediately re-register the car in his name.

You as seller should explicitly state the exclude liability for material defects – more below.

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The period for redirections is flexible (6 or 12 months) .
Quick and easy to complete online.

Condition of the vehicle: only state what you know for sure

Detailed information about the condition of the vehicle are optional in the purchase contract. You can also simply write as seen . Please note, however, that if you are aware of any damage or defects (e.g., if the. B. As a result of an accident), you must inform the buyer of this. Accordingly, it is advisable to include the information directly in the purchase contract. This way everything is transparent and the buyer cannot claim later that you knowingly concealed something from him.

In principle: only make statements in the purchase contract that you are sure are correct.

Example speedometer readingif you have bought your car new yourself, you know of course that it is correct and has not been tampered with. But if you have bought the car second or third hand, you can not be sure about that.
In that case: better leave out the information. Otherwise you have bad cards in a possible legal dispute with the buyer.
The same applies to statements such as accident-free .

Two people shaking hands, a car in the background

Exclude liability for material defects: so that you are on the safe side

The sentence the vehicle will be returned under exclusion of liability for material defects sold. Is for you as a seller one of the central passages in the car sales contract, on which you should never waive. Because otherwise, according to § 438 BGB: you are liable for possible defects for 2 years after sale, which already existed before the purchase. Resourceful buyers could take advantage of this and present you with a long list of defects that you have allegedly concealed even months later. When and how they were created is then difficult to prove.

But don’t panic: if you have excluded liability for material defects in the purchase contract and described the condition of the vehicle to the best of your knowledge and belief, you can normally sit back and relax. The buyer has a right to return only if you .

. you have deliberately or fraudulently concealed certain defects or
. Have made statements in the purchase contract that later turn out to be false (e.g. B. Accident free – s. O.).

Buyer does not have a general right of return

The buyer does not want the car any more and invokes his right of return? If there is nothing wrong with the car and the buyer has only changed his mind, he is out of luck: there is no general right to return or exchange the car within a certain period of time in private sales.

And how is it with the purchase over an online car exchange?? According to § 355 of the German Civil Code (BGB) there is the 14-day right of revocation for online purchases only. But even on this the buyer can not invoke, if he has only seen the advertisement on the Internet, but then came in person and looked at the car before buying or even test drove it.

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