How Electric Cars Work

Electric car is one of the major alternatives to gasoline powered cars. More people are opting for electric cars as the fuel prices are sky rocketing. Besides this, electric cars don't cause environmental pollution.

An electric car is an automobile run by one or more electric motors drwaing power from an on board electric source. In electric cars, the power is generated by an electric motor rather than a gasoline engine.

WORKING OF AN ELECTRIC CAR

Working of an electric car has different functions which altogether make it an efficient vehicle.

Energy Source

An electric car stores its energy on board-most commonly in batteries. But it also stores energy in capacitors or flywheel storage devices for alternative use. It may even generate energy using a fuel cell or generator.

A fuel cell is a minimized form of battery which combines hydrogen with oxygen in a chemical reaction producing electricity and water vapor. Unlike an electric cell, a fuel cell does not require to be recharged as it operates as long as the fuel is supplied to it.

Most versions of electric cars available in the market use a combination of these energy sources. Pure electric cars, on the other hand, run only on a battery and it needs a charger to reactivate the power from an external electric source. One can recharge the battery whenever there is a need and can use the car.

Motor

The hybrid electric vehicle uses both an electric motor and a gasoline engine to increase the car's range and to provide additional power when required. A conventional hybrid electric vehicle like Toyota Prius, uses battery power up to certain speeds and the gasoline engine starts at a higher speed and runs the vehicle, and at times it can use both the power sources. The batteries in the vehicle are recharged by the gasoline engine that acts as a generator.

Another type of hybrid electric vehicle, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, has extra batteries to increase the range of the vehicle. The hybrid electric vehicle can be connected to an external electric source for recharging.

Controller

An electric car needs a controller even if it has an energy source. This controller is connected to the accelerator pedal to help in directing electricity flow from the energy source to the motor.

Batteries

Most of the electric cars use lead-acid batteries but in recent times, zinc-chlorine, nickel metal hydride, and sodium-sulfur batteries are becoming more commonly used batteries.

A conventional HEV uses nickel metal hydride but some automakers opt for using lithium-ion batteries. The motor in the electric car controls the battery's electrical energy by converting it to equal amount of kinetic energy. The driver can just switch on the power, select a direction and step on the accelerator.

Engine

The internal combustion engine of a general electric car has different moving parts. For the conversion of the linear motion of the pistons into a rotary motion of the wheels, a single rotating element is present. An electric car has a system of gears and joints which convert motion from the motor to the wheels just like a gasoline car. Because the electric cars do not have the usual clutches the flow of electricity is reversed to facilitate the backward movement and this changes the movements of the motor by supplying the power to make the wheels move in the opposite direction.

Braking System

Usually, the electric cars have a regenerative brakes which supply power to the battery. When the driver slows down the vehicle by easing up on the accelerator or stop the vehicle by applying the brake, the motor acts as a generator. It converts the momentum of the vehicle into electric power and stores it in the battery.

Conversion of kinetic energy into electric energy slows down the car, generally. An electric car has a brake pedal and conventional braking system, which uses friction to slow the vehicle for quick stopping. These friction brakes transform kinetic energy to heat energy. This energy is wasted in gasoline-powered cars as the heat goes into the surrounding air. Because of this, the energy conservation in electric cars is very high.

An electric car and a gasoline engine car look almost similar and one can not easily distinguish between them. But electric car doesn't make noise while moving. The unique features mentioned above and all the advantages these electric cars have over gasoline cars, they are fast growing cars all around the world.

Sources

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclo pedia_761580732/electric_car.h tml