Electric Car
One of the alternatives is to use the electric motor instead of gasoline one. An electric car is a car that powered by an electric motor rather than a regular gasoline engine. There are several major differences between gasoline and electric cars. First of all, “the electric motor will replace the gasoline engine” (“How Electric”, 2004). Secondly, “the electric motor is powered by a controller” (“How Electric”, 2004). Thirdly, “the controller gets power from the rechargeable batteries” (“How Electric”, 2004).
In an electric car, according to Brain, the controller will take power from the batteries and deliver power to the motor. The accelerator pedal in an electric car has the same function as the one in gasoline. The controller will deliver power to the motor depends on how hard the driver steps on the accelerator pedal.
The electric can use AC or DC motors, and each of these motors has the range of volts to run on. DC motor is much simpler and less expensive compares with AC motor. But the only problem for DC motor is heat build up fast. Too much overdriving will heat up the motor to the point where it will break down. AC motor allows using the industrial AC motor, and can making finding a motor with a specific size, shaping or powering rating easier.
The Batteries
Batteries are the most important component of any electric car. However, Brain states that there are some problems with the ordinary lead-acid battery technology:
1. The lead-acid batteries are heavy.
2. The size of lead-acid batteries is big.
3. The batteries have a limited capacity. A typical lead-acid battery pack might hold 12 to 15 KW-hours of electricity, giving a car range of only 50 miles or so.
4. They are slow to charge. Normally it takes four to 10 hours for full charge depends on the battery technology.
5. These batteries are short life. The Life cycle is about three to four years, and approximately 200 full charge/discharge cycles).
6. They are expensive.
In an electric car, according to Brain, the controller will take power from the batteries and deliver power to the motor. The accelerator pedal in an electric car has the same function as the one in gasoline. The controller will deliver power to the motor depends on how hard the driver steps on the accelerator pedal.
The electric can use AC or DC motors, and each of these motors has the range of volts to run on. DC motor is much simpler and less expensive compares with AC motor. But the only problem for DC motor is heat build up fast. Too much overdriving will heat up the motor to the point where it will break down. AC motor allows using the industrial AC motor, and can making finding a motor with a specific size, shaping or powering rating easier.
The Batteries
Batteries are the most important component of any electric car. However, Brain states that there are some problems with the ordinary lead-acid battery technology:
1. The lead-acid batteries are heavy.
2. The size of lead-acid batteries is big.
3. The batteries have a limited capacity. A typical lead-acid battery pack might hold 12 to 15 KW-hours of electricity, giving a car range of only 50 miles or so.
4. They are slow to charge. Normally it takes four to 10 hours for full charge depends on the battery technology.
5. These batteries are short life. The Life cycle is about three to four years, and approximately 200 full charge/discharge cycles).
6. They are expensive.