Sword of the South
Banned
What would life be like if diesel was not the primary power source for automobiles?
Petrol's not as explosive as you think, and it's actually still the Dominant Aviation fuel for Piston Aircraft and is commonly used for gas-turbines when Kerosene and Naphtha aren't available. The Standard Explosion proofing method is to simply include an Oxygen scrubber and some Foam in the tank, and then it's almost as safe as Diesel.Petrol?!? That explosive shit? Seriously, no one in their right mind would willingly ride around on 10+ gallons of flamable liquid. Imagine, any crash could turn into a fireball! Lord knows no military commander would allow it in their vehicles!
Still, though, assuming madness reigns you might see it as a short-term expedient if, say, the Thompsen lightweight diesel engine had been butterflied or delayed back at the turn of the century. Petrol engines were, IIRC, able to be built lighter weight since the cylinder pressures were lower thanks to spark ignition. WWI aircraft were petrol by necessity, but since they were string-and-cloth death traps anyway the pilots didn't mind.
Let's also not forget that petrol is used almost exclusively over diesel in sports cars and race cars.Petrol's not as explosive as you think, and it's actually still the Dominant Aviation fuel for Piston Aircraft and is commonly used for gas-turbines when Kerosene and Naphtha aren't available. The Standard Explosion proofing method is to simply include an Oxygen scrubber and some Foam in the tank, and then it's almost as safe as Diesel.
Still, Steam might stay dominant if the Flash Boiler is invented before the Thompsen-Diesel engine.
Well, Yeah, although it's not as common in Lower end vehicles, since Petrol's kinda uncommon and more expensive than diesel in most places, and even then it's used mainly for Avgas, so you have to go to a small airport or something.Let's also not forget that petrol is used almost exclusively over diesel in sports cars and race cars.