Can you name some transportation vehicles that use electric motors?

Many transportation vehicles use electric motors. Subways and electric trains are two examples. However, other transportation devices like elevators, escalators, and rides in amusement parks are also powered by electric motors. Some devices combine electric motors with other power systems.

Electric Cars

Will we ever drive cars powered by electricity?

In response to public concerns, automobile companies have experimented with electrically powered cars in order to find a technology that does not harm the environment. For several years, General Motors leased battery-powered EVI electric cars to customers in California and some nearby states. The driver pressed an accelerator pedal just as in an engine-powered car. The pedal controlled how much electricity was sent to the motor from the batteries, and the car sped up or slowed down.

Automobile companies continue to experiment with all-electric cars. For those completely dependent on batteries, the biggest problem has been the distance you can drive on a single battery charge. It tends to be around fifty miles, which means you can drive only about twenty-five miles away from a power source.

Electric automobiles may become popular if a breakthrough can be made to increase battery life.

Hybrid Automobiles

Can an electric car have a gasoline engine too?

Although very few all-electric cars are currently for sale to the general public, the hybrid is a more popular choice. A hybrid is a combination of different elements. The hybrid car uses the combination of an electric motor and a gasoline engine.

The electric motor is used at low speeds around town and limits exhaust emissions. The small gasoline engine is used for higher speeds on the open highway where emissions do not tend to collect. The gasoline engine also operates a generator that recharges the batteries that power the electric motor. One type of hybrid automobile has a 44 horsepower electric motor and a 70 horsepower gasoline engine. The main problem with hybrid cars is that they are still a little expensive.

Fuel Cell Automobiles

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a fuel cell?

If battery-powered electric automobiles are not practical, fuel cells might be the answer. You may have heard a lot recently about fuel cells. According to many news reports, we may soon be using the new energy-saving technology to generate electrical power for our homes and cars. The technology is extremely interesting to people in all walks of life because it offers a means of making power more efficiently and with less pollution.

What is a Fuel Cell?

If you want to be technical about it, a fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device. A fuel cell converts the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process it produces electricity.

Click here for a background video on Fuel Cell Technology.

The other electrochemical device that we are all familiar with is the battery. A battery has all of its chemicals stored inside, and it converts those chemicals into electricity too. This means that a battery eventually "goes dead" and you either throw it away or recharge it.

With a fuel cell, chemicals constantly flow into the cell so it never goes dead -- as long as there is a flow of chemicals into the cell, the electricity flows out of the cell. Most fuel cells in use today use hydrogen and oxygen as the chemicals. Hydrogen and oxygen are both unlimited resources.

Electricity produced by a fuel cell can be converted to mechanical power using an electric motor. Experimental fuel-cell powered electric automobiles have gone 280 miles before having to be refueled. Some cities are testing fuel-cell-powered buses.

Because their only emission is water, fuel cells do not pollute the atmosphere. They also don't have to be recharged, just refilled with hydrogen. Fuel cells might power a car that you will drive in the future. So far, however, there are none available to the public, partly because they are so expensive. Car manufacturers are working to make fuel cell cars more practical.

Fuel cells have been used for many years in the space program. Used on extended missions into outer space, fuel cells provide necessary electricity and valuable water for the crew and the space ship. Fuel cells have been used in most space programs including the Appollo, Space Shuttle, and International Space Station. The International Space Station is shown on the right.

Some day, fuel cells may not only be powering our vehicles and homes, but also our schools, factories, and even our laptop computers.

Click here to learn more about how fuel cells work.

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