Can you get electrocuted by an electric vehicle?
Electric cars, scooters and bikes are everywhere. Are they safe? A Northeastern expert breaks down the safety of EV and lithium-ion batteries when they encounter water.
Mar 14, 2024
0
3
Electric cars, scooters and bikes are everywhere. Are they safe? A Northeastern expert breaks down the safety of EV and lithium-ion batteries when they encounter water.
Mar 14, 2024
0
3
In northeast Bosnia's rolling hills, the local community is torn between fears of environmental ruin and hopes of riches from huge deposits of the critical minerals Europe needs for its green transition.
Mar 14, 2024
0
8
Rechargeable batteries are great for storing energy and powering electronics from smartphones to electric vehicles. In cold environments, however, they can be more difficult to charge and may even catch on fire.
Mar 6, 2024
0
1
America's muscle car culture is adapting to the new world of electric vehicles, but the gasoline-powered high-performance road beasts will be around for at least a few more years.
Mar 5, 2024
0
2
There's a down side to "smart" devices: They can be hacked.
Mar 4, 2024
0
79
E-bikes have captured widespread attention across the U.S., and for good reason. They are the most energy-efficient way to move from place to place, providing exercise in the process, and offer enough assistance while pedaling ...
Feb 27, 2024
0
11
Building transmission lines is often controversial. Farmers who agree to host new lines on their property may be paid, while other community members protest against the visual intrusion. Pushback against new lines has slowed ...
Feb 27, 2024
0
9
Britain's green economy grew in 2023 to buck a broader recession, according to a report released Tuesday that urged politicians heading into a general election to stick with climate-friendly investments.
Feb 27, 2024
0
6
A study, published in One Earth, is the first to analyze the interplay of electrification and hydrogen in EU climate neutrality scenarios at greater sectoral detail. The analysis shows higher potential for electrification ...
Feb 16, 2024
0
41
The French government said Monday it was suspending a scheme to lease electric cars from just 100 euros ($109) a month after subsidizing more than double the number of vehicles planned for 2024.
Feb 12, 2024
0
1
An electric car is an alternative fuel automobile that uses electric motors and motor controllers for propulsion, in place of more common propulsion methods such as the internal combustion engine (ICE). Electric cars are a specifically a variety of electric vehicle intended for use as a road-going automobile. Electric cars are commonly powered by on-board battery packs, and as such are battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Other on-board energy storage methods that are expected to come into use in the future include ultracapacitors, or a spinning flywheel, which stores energy as potential energy.
Electric cars enjoyed popularity between the mid-19th century and early 20th 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. Advanced in ICE technology soon rendered this advantage moot; the greater range of gasoline cars, quicker refueling times, and growing petroleum infrastructure, along with the mass production of gasoline vehicles by companies such Ford, which reduced prices of gasoline cars to nearly 50% of that of equivalent electric cars, effectively killed off the electric car in important markets such as the United States by the 1930s.
In recent years, increased concerns over the environmental impact of gasoline cars, along with reduced consumer ability to pay for fuel for gasoline cars, has brought about renewed interest in electric cars, which are perceived to be more environmentally friendly and cheaper to maintain and run, despite high initial costs. Electric cars currently enjoy relative popularity in countries around the world, though they are notably absent from the roads of the United States, where electric cars briefly re-appeared in the late 90s as a response to changing government regulations. The hybrid car has become the most common form of electric car, combining a gasoline powertrain with supplementary electric motors to run the car at idle and low speeds, making use of techniques such as regenerative braking to improve its efficiency over comparable gasoline cars, while not being hampered by the limited range inherent to current battery electric cars. Hybrids are now sold by most major manufacturers, with notable models including the Toyota Prius and the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid which uses a fully electric drivetrain supplemented by a gasoline-powered electric generator to extend its range. As of 2009, the world's most popular battery electric car is the REVAi, which is produced by an Indian company and sold in a number of countries in Europe and Asia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA