How are Cars Powered?

How do we get from the gas pump to driving down the highway…

Gasoline &Internal Combustion Engines

  http://www.britannica.com/eb/art-89315/An-internal-combustion-engine-goes-through-four-strokes-intake-compression

Put high energy fuel in a small area and ignite it.

Hybrids…Gasoline & Electric

Example of MPH vs MPG in a hybrid

Hybrids

“Flash Animation: How Hybrids Work” link: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybridtech.shtml

Without animation: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybridAnimation/hybrid/hybridstarting.html

BioDiesel Biodiesel is usually made from plant oils

or animal fat through a series of chemical reactions. It is both non-toxic and renewable. Because biodiesel essentially comes from plants and animals, the sources can be replenished through farming and recycling.

Biodiesel is safe and can be used in diesel engines with little or no modification needed. Although biodiesel can be used in its pure form, it is usually blended with standard diesel fuel. Blends are indicated by the abbreviation Bxx, where xx is the percentage of biodiesel in the mixture. For example, the most common blend is B20, or 20 percent biodiesel to 80 percent standard. So, B100 refers to pure biodiesel.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/biodiesel.htm

E85

The number of models that can run on the E85 ethanol is at an all time high. Choices include cars, minivans, SUVs, and pickup trucks. General Motors leads the industry in E85 ethanol-capable vehicles, with more than a dozen models for 2007. Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ford also field a selection, with Mercedes-Benz and Nissan represented as well.

It's this flexibility that gives them the nickname, flex-fuel vehicles. E85 ethanol fuel costs about the same per gallon as conventional 87-octane gasoline.

E85 is shorthand for a blend of combustible motor-vehicle fuel that's 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent conventional unleaded gasoline. Ethanol is derived from plant material, corn mostly. Because its raw materials come mostly from U.S. farms and are distilled in U.S. refineries, ethanol is touted as a renewable energy source that has the potential to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.

Electric Cars

Electric Vehicles

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/evtech.shtml

Fuel Cell Vehicles

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fuelcell.shtml

Hydrogen Powered

It's sleek. It's aerodynamic. It's environmentally friendly. BMW's H2R (Hydrogen Record Car) is powered entirely by the clean-burning process of liquid-hydrogen combustion, and this next-generation racecar has already set speed records in its class.

How does H2 power a car?

A Hydrogen-Fueled Car The use of hydrogen as a fuel in motor vehicles offers several advantages

over traditional fossil fuels: There exists an unlimited supply of hydrogen -- hydrogen is the most

abundant element in the universe and the tenth most abundant element on Earth.

Hydrogen is renewable -- When hydrogen reacts with oxygen, the by-product is water (H2O), which can then be hydrolyzed (broken up into its component parts) to yield more hydrogen.

Hydrogen is clean-burning -- Unlike the burning of fossil fuels, hydrogen combustion does not produce any destructive environmental pollutants.

Hydrogen weighs less and generates more power than hydrocarbon-based fuels.

Hydrogen burns faster (and at a lower temperature) than conventional gasoline.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/bmw-h2r1.htm