Electric vehicle
hideAn electric vehicle (EV), also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, is a vehicle which uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. Depending on the type of vehicle, motion may be provided by wheels or propellers driven by rotary motors, or in the case of tracked vehicles, by linear motors. Electric vehicles can include electric cars, electric trains, electric airplanes, electric boats, electric motorcycles and scooters, and electric spacecraft.
Electric vehicles first came into existence in the mid-19th century, when electricity was among the preferred methods for automobile propulsion, providing a level of comfort and ease of operation that could not be achieved by the gasoline cars of the time. At one time the internal combustion engine (ICE) had completely replaced the electric drive as a propulsion method for automobiles, but electric power has remained commonplace in other vehicle types, such as trains and smaller vehicles of all types.
Electric vehicles are distinct from fossil fuel-powered vehicles in that they can receive their power from a number of sources, including fossil fuels themselves, nuclear power, and renewable sources such as tidal power, solar power, and wind power. This energy is then transmitted to the vehicle through use of overhead lines, wireless energy transfer, or a direct connection through an electrical cable. The electricity may then be stored onboard the vehicle using a battery, flywheel, supercapacitor, or fuel cell. Vehicles making use of engines working on the principle of combustion can usually only derive their energy from a single or a few sources, usually non-renewable fossil fuels.
At the beginning of the 21st century, increased concern over the environmental impact of the petroleum-based transportation infrastructure, along with the spectre of peak oil, led to renewed interest in an electric transportation infrastructure. As such, vehicles which can potentially be powered by renewable energy sources, such as hybrid electric vehicles or pure electric vehicles, are becoming more popular.
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News tagged with electric vehicles
Researchers customizing electric cars for cost-effective urban commuting
Nov 16, 2009 |
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Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute have converted a 2001 Scion xB into an electric commuter vehicle that will serve as a test bed for a new community-based approach to electric vehicle design, ...
Car That Runs on Compressed Air Questioned by Critics (w/ Video)
Nov 03, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (21) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- As electric cars begin breaking into the short-distance vehicle market, one French company thinks that it has an alternative to the electric vehicle: a car that runs on compressed air. Motor ...
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Electric cars need government support: Nissan-Renault CEO
Nov 12, 2009 |
2.3 / 5 (3) |
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Electric cars could help China and other countries reduce their dependency on oil but the government must provide incentive to make the shift, Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn said Thursday.
New rechargeable zinc-air batteries coming soon
Oct 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new breed of rechargeable zinc-air batteries is soon to be available, and may replace lithium-ion batteries in cell phones, laptops and other consumer items. Lithium-ion batteries store ...
Pulling the plug on hybrid myths
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Whether you call them myths, urban legends, fables or old wives' tales, there's a lot of misinformation out there about plug-in electric hybrid vehicles. These vehicles, abbreviated PHEVs, ...
Metal-Air Battery Could Store 11 Times More Energy than Lithium-Ion
Nov 05, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (48) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A spinoff company from Arizona State University plans to build a new battery with an energy density 11 times greater than that of lithium-ion batteries for just one-third the cost. With a ...
Perfectly proportioned: Working to improve dry compaction and sintering
Nov 03, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The manufacture of parts by compaction and sintering involves filling a die with metal powder. Research scientists have simulated this process for the first time to achieve an evenly distributed ...
Green heating and cooling technology turns carbon from eco-villain to hero
Nov 10, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
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Carbon is usually typecast as a villain in terms of the environment but researchers at the University of Warwick have devised a novel way to miniaturise a technology that will make carbon a key material in ...
Hydrogen milestone moves energy independence one step forward
Nov 10, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (14) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Big things often come in small packages. That's certainly the case with the potential created by recent successes in hydrogen research at Idaho National Laboratory.
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