Electric cars Blog

September 26th, 2008 by admin

Radio controlled (RC) powered cars have been popular items for kids and adults alike. RC powered cars can be both entertaining and educational. This is a great way for families to spend a lot time together. The electric car hobby has been around for many years and is a good way for children to learn about mechanics, suspension, electricity, servos, and radio singles or frequencies.

The future of the automobile industry worldwide over the next 20 years will be switching to electricity as it prime energy source for vehicles, and what better way for your son or daughter to learn this new and exciting career than having them build their own replica model of a future car. Your son or daughter can build these models from component parts, so they develop good kinetic and critical thinking skills. Good kinetic skill is something a computer program cannot truly develop.

The RC powered car can also include RC gas powered cars. Some gas electric car models use glow plug engines that use nitro-methane or nitro for short. These models are mostly expensive, but remote gas cars add more realism to the hobby. Remote gas powered cars incorporate small piston engines very similar to real automobiles. These too can be a wonderful way for you or your children to learn.

Whether you choose to build an RC electric powered car or an RC gas powered car you will learn valuable information that you or your children can build upon. Once you have completed your RC powered car you can take it to the next level and compete. You can race your car against others and learn to alter your car to be faster and more maneuverable to increase your chances of winning.

September 22nd, 2008 by admin

In an era of rising gas prices, the American public has seen a renewed surge of interest in the kinds of fuel economy that they get in their vehicles. People are trading out and selling the gas-guzzling trucks or SUVs of yester-year, and increasingly choosing cars based on gas mileage. This trend includes a definite increase in the number of hybrid and electric cars that are being bought and sold, as people begin to embrace new alternative energy possibilities. But what is an electric car, and how does it work?

A completely electric car is powered by either batteries that must be recharged at charging stations, or fuel cells. Fuel cells take in hydrogen gas and convert it into electricity. Often, electric cars can also run on (or at least be supplemented by) solar energy in the form of panels on their roofs or bodies.

This electricity source, whatever it might be, is used to power an electric motor. The motor is a coil of wire that can spin freely inside a casing of magnets. When electricity is fed into the wire, it makes a magnetic field that turns the coil very quickly. By fastening the spinning coil to an axle, the wheels are driven along. A modern electric car can get 250 miles or more on a single charge, more than sufficient for most day to day commuting purposes.