What Is Mechanical Energy Article
Alternative Energy: Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles have been around for centuries. The mass transit system has used electric forms of energy for years. Electric cars are being considered as a better way to ‘fuel’ cars rather than internal combustion or gas powered engines. Electric energy is safe on the environment, it is efficient and quiet.
At one time electric cars were more primitive and could only be run at low speeds and very had basic controls. They have actually improved and have come a long way. They are now being used more and more in other countries. In the United States, gas powered engines took off and electric cars fell by the way side. Now they are being considered once again, because of the price of gas and the shortage of oil.
The mass transportation system has proven to be successful with the use of electric powered trams, subways and buses. They have been functioning and have been maintained with very little effort and problems. Europe uses electric powered buses and railways in most of their metropolitan areas.
The demand for electric cars has fallen short for several reasons. The technology for these cars most recently has become viable only since the 1980’s. The batteries used to power the cars are short lived and require recharging quite often. They do not allow a car to go as far as it could on a tank of gas. Scientists are still working on improving fuel cell energy which appears to be the most promising way to power cars.
Another option for electric cars could be lithium batteries which last for a long time. This may prove to be the best way to power electric cars. Another major development has been levitation trains that are magnetic and run on electric energy. This is an exciting opportunity for the future. Hopefully, progress in the area of electric energy is just around the corner.
The issue of batteries is life span. They are also costly, and battery operated cars would offer a limited mobility area before the battery runs dead on the car and you are stuck. Also the consideration of charging batteries, the amount of time and the actual life span of the battery.
Electric cars are certainly cheaper they cost about 4 cents a mile to run and gas powered cars cost about 5 times more. So there is certainly an economic argument for making electric cars more accessible and standardized for the general public.
France has been successful in promoting the Peugeot Berlingo and several thousand have been built. In Switzerland, battery powered cars are popular and are powered by solar cells. Electric cars are also popular in the United Kingdom and Italy.
There is also controversy regarding sabotage of electric cars in the United States. Auto manufacturers are being pushed to build cars that are more environmentally friendly and are cheaper.
