Search for an Alternative Fuel Source for Automobiles

Throughout modern times we have witnessed many advancements in technology. These advancements are results of research and data collected about our world and society, helping us to better understand the most efficient ways we can work. With this increased knowledge, we have become more aware of the footprint humans leave on the environment. In an effort to better our environment, with this knowledge we have become a more environmentally conscious world. One major advancement we have seen in environmentally friendly technology includes the electric vehicle. Electric and hybrid electric vehicles have brought about many advantages and impacts including: decreased emissions, minimal gas usage, and increased safety.

In general the automobile was invented to transport people. Horses were the main mode of transportation and a self powered vehicle seemed to offer many benefits. We have looked at the automobile history and seen how this innovation occurred. The United States in the 19th century had been developing a very successful metal-working industry, which included firearms, sewing machines and machine tools. Not only did this push technology ahead but it also created demand products of a complex technical nature. This technology is what leads to the production of the automobile. The electric car for many years followed the same format that the internal combustion automobile went

Although internal combustion engines are what powers most cars on the road today, its efficiency is very low. An average combustion engine today is only able to convert 20% of the thermal energy content of gasoline into doing mechanical work (3). Most of the energy is lost to heat which

In this article “Why the Gasoline Engine Isn’t Going Away Any Time Soon,” Joseph B. White states that alternative energy cars could be the start of a revolution in the automaker world, however, complications interfere with the outcome. Although the author suggests different ideas on alternative vehicles, he contradicts himself numerous times while also lacking credibility of any sources.

Electric cars are becoming very popular in today’s world and are becoming more main stream. One reason for this is the need for automobiles that have a lower or a zero carbon footprint. For the majority of the history of the automobile, the propulsion system was a gas or a diesel engine that would run off of fossil fuels. The burning of fossil fuels is very hazardous to our world and also creates much toxic pollution. However, electric cars run off of electricity, which is a very clean and pollution free resource, depending on how the electricity was produced of course. In this paper we are going to examine the history of electric cars, look into modern electric car technology, and peer into the future of electric car technology to see if EVs might be the answer to dramatically reducing our global pollution.

Car companies are doing research in to alternative fuel sources that don’t use gas. The new innovations include natural gas powered, electric powered and hydrogen fuel cells. All three cost a lot of money to research and to build, but with the rising cost of gas car companies know there will be a future for them. Natural gas powered cars work almost the same as conventional cars except they burn natural gas instead of gas derived from crud oil. Natural gas burns cleaner than conventional gas, and its cheaper

Since the development of the steam engine people had been interested in creating self-powered vehicles, this manifested during the industrial revolution as the train. However, as time went on people became interested in creating a vehicle that wasn’t confined to tracks. The earliest attempts were moderately successful but served little practical purpose. Automobiles first began to truly spread with the invention of the electric motor which created cheaper, more powerful, and safer automobiles. Still the automobile still had numerous problems and were mainly in the hands of the rich. It was the development of the internal combustion engine and the assembly line that was truly able to create a practical vehicle that could be used by all and

Fuel alternatives for the future are very important because, we need resources for life. We won’t have fossil fuels forever. It is important to start now. If we did not have any fuel alternatives how would the world be?

Throughout the years, vehicles have been an important part of human lives. From steam-powered, diesel-powered and now, electric-powered vehicles. With today’s ever advancing technology, the type of technology used for vehicles are slowly evolving into something that adapts the change that is also happening in our word. This includes climate change, population increase and many more.

New energy was, is and will be a major focus of the automobile industry. As the increased growth of sales in vehicles. It is a wise decision taken by many to be concentrating on vehicles not only run on fuel, but give more of a concentration towards vehicles run on alternatives such as electric, solar or any other type of technology which will come our way based on the advancements in technology.

The major cause of their ballooning demand in the market is their efficiency and environmental health. The vehicles do not emit pollutant gases. Like the use of the sun, the use of electricity has not been associated to any malicious products. This factors has caused the global demand for the cars rise uncontrollably. Unlike the fuel engine vehicles engine, the electric is less labor intensive. The vehicles also have low maintenance cost as compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. At the same time, the source of energy, the electricity, has become the easiest form of energy generation by many states in the world. Therefore, electric vehicles do not have energy dependency on imported fuels. Electrical energy can be obtained from solar, wind and even nuclear. With many governments showing great efforts in increasing the power generated into the national grid, the possibility for running on absolute electricity vehicles has hit the market.

Gasoline powered cars are everywhere, with 800 million of them in 2008 (Seamans), it would be hard for the civilized world to give the car up for an alternative mode of transportation. The internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) provides transportation to millions everyday, someday though the petroleum supplies will run dry and an alternative will need to be found. If we as a society wait until that day to find the alternative, said alternative will be costly and probably inefficient. Electric cars have skulked in the shadows, neglected and abused, but soon that all will change.

However, analyse only the octane number to decide which fuel would be more efficient maybe not the best decision. According to Sayin et al. (2005), there are many parameters that should be observed: the engine itself and possible defects it could have, the road conditions, the weather, pressure and altitude as many other parameters. Thought, to understand how efficient a gasoline fuel is necessary to analyse not just of octane number as people are normally used to do, but a whole conditions and parameters (Sayin et al., 2005).

Electric cars are automobiles that are powered by electric motors, which utilise electrical energy stored in batteries (Lave et al., 1995). Electric cars were introduced in the 1880s and were first popular in the late 1800’s and early 1900s (Mitchell et al., 2010). Unlike traditional cars which rely on internal combustion engines and gasoline, electric cars use motors powered by electricity and this process gives them torque, allowing them to accelerate (Lave et al., 1995). Recent advances in battery and electrical manufacturing and concerns over increasing oil prices and greenhouse gas emissions have led to the development and growing popularity of electric cars (Sandalow, 2009; Sperling & Gordon, 2009). Some governments around the world are now offering their citizens incentives in order to encourage the purchase of electric cars instead of traditional automobiles (Shinnar, 2003). These incentives are typically found in form of tax credits and subsidies (Shinnar, 2003).

Toward the beginning of the car unrest in the late 1890 's, a characterizing fight like that of VHS versus Betamax and HD-DVD versus Blu-ray occurred. Electric autos battled next to each other against gasoline operated engine vehicles to turn into the first decision to control the path forward for humanity. In 1899 by the Belgian Camille Jenatzy electric auto manufacture’s appreciated eminent triumphs including the first vehicle to accomplish a pace of more than 62 mph or 100 kmh of the all electric La Jamais. Then again, overriding components still well known today implied that fossil fuel won the general fight of selection for consumers. On account of the fossil-fueled vehicles being more advantageous to refuel and because of any semblance of Henry Ford who mass created the Ford Model T; accordingly bringing down the general price tag for fossil-fuel engine autos (www.autovolt-magazine.com).