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Hybrid cars: The vehicles of
the future? With the price of gasoline hiking up to astronomic
proportions, a lot of motorists are resorting to different ways to save
on fuel. Some of them use alternative diesel. Others resort to using
bikes, which can also contribute to the clean air program. Some who
cannot do away with their rides, however, chose to buy hybrid vehicles.
What exactly is a hybrid car? Primarily, a gasoline-electric hybrid car
is a combination of an electric car and a gasoline-run vehicle. To make
things clearer, it is first necessary to distinguish the
characteristics of those two kinds. A gas-powered vehicle is equipped
with fuel tanks, which gives gasoline to the engine. The engine
operates the transmission, and the transmission operates the wheels.
Meanwhile, an electric car is equipped with a set of batteries which
gives electric power to a motor. The motor then operates the
transmission and the wheels.
Now the hybrid car is a mix of the two. The reputation of hybrids is
that they add to the car's mileage with fewer emissions usually coming
from cars run by gasoline, while eliminating more or less the
disadvantages that comes with electric cars. Motorists usually take
three considerations in mind when judging the usability of a vehicle.
These are:
-it should run at three-hundred miles at least between fuel stops.
-Should be easily refueled, in the minimum amount of time.
-It should catch up with the other vehicles zooming on the road.
The thing is, a gasoline-powered car has all these features, but it
produces lots of emission plus the mileage is poor. On the other hand,
an electric car gives off almost zero pollution, but the speed is
relatively slow, and can only run 50-100 miles between battery charges.
What are the parts of hybrid cars?
1. Gasoline engine Compared to the engine of other cars, hybrids use
smaller ones and is more technically advanced in order to maximize fuel
and lessen emissions.
2. Fuel tank This serves as the device for hybrids to store energy for the gasoline engine.
3. Electric motor The motor present in hybrids is a study in sophistication. It can serve as both generator and motor.
4. Generator Much like an electric motor, but its only purpose is to provide electrical power.
5. Batteries Acts as the storage device of energy for electric motors.
The advantage of hybrid car motors is that they can charge the
batteries with energy as well as get energy supply from them.
6. Transmission Acts the same as conventional car transmissions.
There are two ways in combining the energy sources found in hybrid
cars. The first one is the parallel hybrid, which is equipped with a
fuel tank that provides gasoline to an engine, and a battery set that
supplied energy to the electric motor. The second one is the series
hybrid. In contrast, the generator is powered by the gasoline engine,
and the generator is capable of either energizing the batteries or
provide power to the electric motor that starts up the transmission.
By: Peter Bassett
Sustainable Living Articles @ http://www.articlegarden.com
Peter Basset runs his own home based marketing business but in his spare time writes articles about his passion.....cars!
Why not visit one of his websites full of Hybrid Car Articles
www.car-fanatics.com/Hybrid-Cars.html
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