The Newsworthiness Of Electric Cars

Electric cars have become one of the major newsmakers in 2011 and it is projected that this trend would continue well into 2012. There are many reasons why this topic continues to trend not only in news reports but also in social media. The reasons include:

1.The current environmental issues besetting the world, such as global warming and its current effects on weather has created great interest in finding non-polluting alternatives. Electric cars produce little or no pollution directly compared to those produced by gasoline fueled vehicles;

2.Technological advances and innovations continue to interest many and the developments of hybrid car technology also includes electric car news items and also fuel cell technology has also become a major point of interest;

The external appearance of a vehicle does not indicate if the engine within is electric or gasoline powered. One way of knowing if a vehicle is electric would be the absence of sound coming from the engine compartment except for a slight humming. When the hood is opened, the following would be found in an electric vehicle:

1.There is an electric motor in the hood that provides the forward power for the vehicle;

2.There is a controller that governs the amount of energy produced and used up by the electric motor;

3.The fuel of the electric vehicle comes from an array of rechargeable batteries;

These three major components are connected with electrical wires with specific purposes. In essence the controller takes the electrical energy from the batteries to drive the electric motors.

Like all conventional vehicles, an electric vehicle has an accelerator. Unlike conventional cars, electric vehicle accelerators are connected to a pair of variable resistors that provide signals to the controller on how much electrical power is to be taken from the battery array and delivered to the electric motor. This pedal mechanism can deliver either zero power for a full stop to full power when the accelerator is pushed all the way or any power level in between.

As a safety feature, there are two variable resistors that are connected to the accelerator pedal. The controller requires that the signal from both resistors be equal to operate the vehicle. This safety procedure prevents the failure of the resistor to stick the controller at the full power position.

These particular components are what are now considered as a technological arms race between companies and even countries. The developments in this area and the promise it provides eventually to the consumer is what makes electric vehicles worthy to become news items not only today but well into the future.