Believe it or not, electric cars have been around for a very long time. In the early 1900s, there were more electric cars than there were gasoline-powered cars.  Back in the early 1920’s when vehicles were becoming more popular, gasoline was very expensive. It also was hard to start a gasoline engine; you had to turn and turn and turn a crank in front of the car to get it to start. There was no key to start the car like we have today.

Gasoline vehicles were also noisy and put out lots of smoke. The cars either had no mufflers, or the mufflers didn’t do a good job. So, electric vehicles were a big hit. At one time there were 50,000 of them on the roads and streets of the United States.

But electric cars soon faded away like the horse-drawn carriage. New ways to make gasoline cheaply were being discovered. A new invention called an electric starter was made. It started an electric car with a key instead of a crank. A gasoline car could go much farther than an electric one. So, gasoline-powered vehicles soon became the main method of transporting people.

Now that there is a push for cleaner “green” cars, electricity is once again being looked to as a way to help reduce greenhouse gases released into the air by gasoline and electric cars could be one of the answers to this problem. 

Electric cars don’t burn gasoline in an engine. They use electricity stored on the car in batteries. Sometimes, 12 or 24 batteries, or more, are needed to power the car. Just like a remote-controlled, model electric car, electric cars have an electric motor that turns the wheels and a battery to run that motor.

To charge an electric car’s batteries, the car is usually plugged in at night. Some electric cars can plug right into a regular electrical wall outlet. Others need a larger outlet, like the kind that a stove or electric clothes dryer plug into. Electricity, is then stored in the batteries of the car. 

The batteries can be lead acid batteries, like the batteries you find in our flashlight or in regular gasoline cars. Or they can be ni-cad (nickel-cadmium) like the kind that run portable video recorders or a portable video game player — only much larger. Better batteries that hold more energy and last longer are being developed. In 2001, by the time today’s fifth graders are ready to drive, electric cars should be able to travel 150 to 200 miles before recharging.

Car manufacturers and scientists are constantly coming up with new ways to fuel our vehicles in a cleaner, more environmentally friendly way.  The production of the electric car is an exciting one that is being embraced by more and more people every year.

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Ainuddin Mohamad is the Webmaster of http://MyInfoHQ.net

Tags: alternative fuels

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The Department of Defense (DOD) is asking companies to submit proposals for supplying 200 million gallons of alternative or synthetic fuel in anticipation of major field tests of vehicles and vessels by the Air Force and Navy in 2008 and 2009. The field tests are part of a broader effort by the Pentagon to reduce its dependence on foreign oil with cleaner-burning fuels that would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

The switch by the DOD from conventional fuels to alternative fuels is one that experts have seen coming for years.  The DOD is probably the largest vehicle fleet in the United States and with the government being concerned about gas prices as well as environmental problems, having the DOD go to alternative fuel for its vehicles is a great move on their part.

This request from the DOD could really help the average consumer as it will boost production of alternative fuels and possibly bring them into the general market as a viable alternative to gasoline.  However, the request could have a major impact on the alternative fuels market if the military decides to move forward following the tests because the Pentagon is the single largest buyer of fuel in the country.

Under the possible purchase, the Air Force and Navy through the DOD would each receive 100 million gallons of alternative fuels for testing on ships, airplanes and other operational units. Those fuels would likely be blended with existing DOD fuel types in a 50/50 mixture or similar ratio.

There won’t be enough alternative fuels to do a 100 percent alternative blend for at least a decade according to the DOD.  But even reducing petroleum usage by 50 percent in this country is huge. What the DOD is saying is that they don’t want carbon dioxide greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere and they want to do everything they can to alleviate that problem.

Each of the military services wants to maintain its current single-fuel policy, under which all vehicles are run with as similar a fuel type as possible. DOD officials want to use 50/50 alternative fuel/gasoline blends widely for the service tests at first, with an eye to potentially retooling the ratio for optimum efficiency later on.  But that may be a problem as many engines will have to be adapted to accommodate the alternative fuel and burn it correctly.

With the DOD coming on board in the push to make alternative fuel less alternative, we may be seeing a real switch when it comes to fueling our vehicles.  It could be very advantageous to many people including the Earth’s population.

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Ainuddin Mohamad is the Webmaster of http://MyInfoHQ.net

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There are many different types of alternative fuels that are being developed these days which is an exciting innovation in the vehicle industry.  Alternative fuels are the wave of the future as scientists look for cleaner burning fuels that won’t damage the environment while providing great advantages to the vehicle owner.  They have come up with several.

Probably the most well known type of alternative fuel is ethanol.  Ethanol is often called grain alcohol as it is made from corn and/or soybeans.  Right now on the market is E85 which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.  Even though it still has gasoline in it, ethanol burns much cleaner than regular gas and saves on gas mileage for those who use it.  Ethanol can also be made from organic materials including agricultural crops and waste, plant material left from logging, and trash including paper!

Another type of alternative fuel is methanol, a cousin of ethanol as they are both alcohol based products.  Methanol is sometimes called wood alcohol and can be made from various biomass resources like wood, as well as from coal. However, today nearly all methanol is made from natural gas, or methane, because it is cheaper.

Propane, or compressed natural gas has long been used to provide energy to homes, but it is rising in popularity as a type of alternative fuel for vehicles.  Like oil, this common fuel comes from underground. However, natural gas, as the name implies, is a gas much like air, rather than a liquid like petroleum. It has been found to be one of the most environmentally friendly fuels, and its popularity is growing.

You can find another type of alternative fuel in the form of good old fashioned electricity.  In fact, electric vehicles have been around for a long time, and they are coming back in popularity due to environmental concerns.  Electric vehicles don’t burn gasoline in an engine. They use electricity stored on the car in batteries. Sometimes, 12 or 24 batteries, or more, are needed to power the car.

One of the most interesting and promising type of alternative transportation fuels is hydrogen. While mostly only experimental vehicles are operating on this fuel now, the potential for this unique energy source is excellent. Hydrogen is the lightest of all elements and is easy to produce which is why it is sending excitement waves throughout the alternative fuel industry as they next big type of alternative fuel that can be used in vehicles.

These are only a few types of alternative fuels and more are being developed all the time.  With a growing concern over global warming, the use of alternative fuels will grow in popularity over time and you will likely begin to see many other types of alternative fuels make their appearance.

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Ainuddin Mohamad is the Webmaster of http://MyInfoHQ.net

Tags: alternative fuels

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