Related topics: electric cars , car , lithium ion battery
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.
For more information about Electric vehicle, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with electric vehicles
Electric cars rolling out
Dec 16, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (16) |
7
(PhysOrg.com) -- Electric vehicles are far from new, but we are still a long way from electric cars being the norm. Now two new electric cars may bring that goal a step closer.
Seattle Charges Up for Electric Cars
Dec 15, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (3) |
1
(AP) -- Over the next two years, 2,500 charging stations for electric vehicles will be built in the Seattle area as part of a partnership between Nissan North America and the Electric Transportation Engineering ...
STEM gets greener: Promoting critical thinking using renewable energy technology
Dec 17, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Can building model cars really help create the next generation of electric vehicle designers and engineers? Researchers at North Carolina State University think so. Through a recent grant, they will develop a curriculum that ...
Search results for electric vehicles
Panasonic plans home-use storage cell
Dec 23, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (20) |
10
Panasonic Corp., which recently made a successful takeover bid for Sanyo Electric Co., plans to market a lithium-ion storage cell for home use around fiscal 2011.
NREL Evaluates UPS Hybrid-Electric Van Performance
Dec 22, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (3) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has collected and analyzed fuel economy, maintenance and other vehicle performance data from UPS’s first generation hybrid diesel ...
IBM Reveals Five Innovations that Will Change Cities in the Next Five Years (w/ Video)
Dec 17, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (9) |
1
Today, IBM unveiled a list of innovations that have the potential to change how people live, work and play in cities around the globe over the next five to ten years.
Launch of first operating system for smart grid home automation
Dec 16, 2009 |
1 / 5 (1) |
0
Fraunhofer IWES (Germany) presents the OGEMA Alliance, which will offer an open software platform for energy management.
Toyota aims to roll out plug-in Prius in two years
Dec 14, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (10) |
6
Toyota Motor said Monday that it plans to begin commercial sales of its first plug-in hybrid vehicle in about two years, aiming to meet growing demand for fuel-efficient cars.
Staying Power: Senate Hearing Focuses On Energy Storage
Dec 10, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (8) |
6
Thursday's Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing featured testimony from experts about the power industry's need to develop systems capable of storing large amounts of electricity if the nation's ...
Gallium nitride transistor could replace silicon
Dec 08, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (36) |
6
(PhysOrg.com) -- A Cornell researcher has created an extremely efficient transistor made from gallium nitride, which may soon replace silicon as king of semiconductors for power applications.
Jackson film not part of Sony's new 3-D vision
Dec 03, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- Michael Jackson videos or the next Spider-Man movie won't be among the titles that Sony Corp. releases in 3-D as it gears up to boost TV sales with that technology, Chief Executive Howard Stringer ...
List of search results for electric vehicles
