Car Articles

Read articles on cars and car industry. Get fully updated on all information related to cars. Read exciting happening in the Indian and Global Car industry, tips to help you and more...

Old Articles

Glossary on Green Cars Part-I

Green is the new thing in. But do you really can differentiate an EV from a hybrid? Struggling to figure the difference between a series hybrid and a parallel hybrid?

Believe us, you're not alone. With the green mantra in the automotive world, we're being inundated with an entirely new vocabulary. But one has to learn these new worlds in the coming years. Here's the complete glossary of green machine terms and technologies, from A to Z. As the vocabulary is huge, we will present you in parts.

Alternative Fuels

Petrol and to a lesser extent diesel, currently make up 98 per cent of the fuels used to power automobiles. The term alternative fuels generally refers to any non-petroleum fuels, including ethanol, hydrogen, synthetic diesel compressed natural gas, or CNG and hydrogen.

Battery

Battery can be defined as a device that uses a chemical interaction to produce direct current electricity. There are a wide range of single-use batteries, such as lead-acid and alkaline and a growing assortment of rechargeable batteries, including nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion. Each has distinct characteristics affecting their ability to store, discharge and recharge.

Biodiesel

A synthetic alternative to petroleum-based diesel fuel can be termed as biodiesel. It can be derived from sources such as used cooking oil too. A populist movement has sprung up to produce this alternative and renewable fuel, but there is growing interest by government regulators, putting pressure on “Big Oil” to provide biodiesel. Typically, it requires some modification to a conventional diesel powertrain, and may be mixed with petroleum-based diesel fuel. B85, for example, is a mix of 85 percent biodiesel and 15 percent petro-diesel.

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

It is made up of one part carbon and two parts oxygen. This common molecule was long considered a harmless result of the combustion process - unlike highly poisonous carbon monoxide, or CO. But, in recent years, it has been theorized that a build-up of CO2, largely from burning fossil fuels, is contributing to a warming of Earth's atmosphere.

Cellulosic

A potential method of producing ethanol that would no longer require sugar-rich vegetable matter, such as sugar cane or corn, to be processed. Cellulose compounds, such as wheat chaff and even scrap newspaper could be used instead, increasing the potential supply of biomass available to produce this alcohol fuel. Currently in prototype production, one cellulosic process relies on an enzyme initially discovered in the belly of a beetle.

CVT

CVT is the Continuously Variable Transmission. CVT is being billed as an alternative to conventional automatic and manual gearboxes. A transmission is used to reduce to take rotational power from the engine and link it to the driven wheels. Under most conditions, that rotational speed must be altered to be most efficient. A conventional transmission uses fixed-speed “step” gears that are inherently a compromise. A CVT technology uses a system of belts and pulleys to constantly select the most effective gear ratio for road conditions and a driver's driving style. CVTs generally deliver at least a 5 per cent improvement in fuel economy and can have far fewer pieces than an automatic transmission.

Diesel

This increasingly popular alternative to the petrol engine was developed by German inventor Rudolph Diesel, in 1892, about 16 years after the invention of the petrol-powered internal combustion engine. In many ways, the two technologies have much in common. They both require the injection of a mixture of air and fuel into a cylinder and when it is burned, expanding gases move a piston which, in turn, sends energy out to the wheels. But in a diesel, the air/fuel mixture is compressed to the point where there is spontaneous combustion. Diesel fuel itself is heavier than gasoline and contains more energy. In years past, diesels were derided as noisy, smelly and slow, but new technologies, such as direct injection, have overcome most of those problems.

E85

E85 is a blend of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. This is the most common blend of the alcohol-based fuel and is slowly increasing in distribution around the United States and other countries. Adding that small amount of petroleum offers a number of advantages, including the ability to start in extremely cold climates.

Electric Vehicle

An Electric Vehicle (EV) can be a car, truck or crossover which runs solely on electric power. Electric Vehicles are the only true zero-emissions vehicles as they produce absolutely no emissions while running on battery power.

Electrolysis

An electrical process in which high current levels are used to break water molecules down into their most basic, atomic components, two parts of hydrogen and one part water is called Electrolysis. There are other means of producing hydrogen, but they usually require starting from a fossil fuel base, such as coal or natural gas. Electrolysis is extremely energy intensive, thus inefficient, but the energy needed can be provided by nuclear energy or renewable sources, such as wind, solar or geothermal power.

» Read more Articles On Green cars

» Read more Articles On Electric Vehicle

» Read more Articles On Hybrid cars