Technology
135 Electric Motors
Peyton Pitts
The word “technology” (which derives from the Greek word techne, meaning art or craft) technology is the creation or progression of different tools that help improve society.
Society and technology are codependent, you can’t have one without the other. For example, you can take something simple like a spoon and see how much that innovation has changed the way we do mundane tasks. Looking at that at a larger scale the invention of automobiles changed transportation and the way we interacted with the landscape. The advancements in roads and the emissions given off by combustion engine cars have changed our landscape. \We now have new environmental challenges in our society involving climate change and deforestation. An alternative is the innovation of the electric motor, it gives off less of a carbon footprint and is more efficient and is more sustainable for society. An electric motor can be defined as an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. It is up to us to change the narrative of combustion engines and introduce more sustainable practices to our society.
Missing Voices
A missing voice is someone who hasn’t been credited for their discovery. This often happens in every subject of technological interest. We see this happening in the innovation of electric motors. Moritz Jacobi, though he was not the first inventor of the electric motor, he was the first one to put it to use. He made a 28 foot boat that carried 14 people across a wide river against the current at 3 miles per hour. Keep in mind this took place in the 1830s. This was the first look at a more sustainable option rather than the coal fed trains that dominated the industry at the time.
After many more or less successful attempts with relatively weak rotating and reciprocating apparatus the German-speaking Prussian Moritz Jacobi created the first real rotating electric motor in May 1834. This produced a remarkable mechanical output power. His motor set a world record which was improved only four years later in September 1838 by Jacobi himself. His second motor was powerful enough to drive a boat with 14 people across a wide river. It was not until 1839-40 that other developers worldwide managed to build motors similar and then later of higher performance.
Society With Electric Motors
In the 1830s people didn’t really find electric motors as useful compared to combustion engines, however with current climate change and advancements in the realm of electric motors and lithium battery design they are becoming more and more practical.
Era Benefits:
- Combustion engines were more reliable and efficient during the earlier periods of electric motor development
- 26% of the combustion energy is converted to mechanical energy so the thermal efficiency isn’t very good
- A combustion engine is small explosions that get converted into power and a electric motor is a spinning magnet that gets converted into power
- Electric motors made modern america, they are used in everything we use everyday to do normal tasks like dishwashers, vacuums, and printers
- While they are used in everyday life they are also used in larger scaled things like aircraft and cars
- Gas powered car vs Electric motor car
Do you think we should make a full transition into pure electric motors and if so how should society make the switch?
If you look at this chart you can see that the majority of the world is already making the switch into electric and hybrid vehicles while the United States is dragging behind.
Electric vehicles have appeared as a model of sustainability and respect to the environment, due to the fact they do not emit harmful substances to the air, unlike conventional internal combustion vehicles. Such sustainability is not only limited to the usage of hybrid or electric vehicles, but also their design, the prime materials used in the manufacturing of these vehicles, and the energy footprint during its use, as well as the subsequent recycling of their components influencing the circles of sustainability.
How does it work?
They operate using principles of electromagnetism, which shows that a force is applied when an electric current is present in a magnetic field. This force creates a torque on a loop of wire present in the magnetic field, which causes the motor to spin and perform useful work.
When looking at an electric motor’s efficiency you can see that it doesn’t lose any power until almost 90% RPM. While a gas motor would lose efficiency around 65-70% RPM.
Resolution/Conflict?
In other countries of the world we already see this change happening. The annual carbon footprints of Swedish passenger car travel as well as annual tailpipe CO2 emissions are estimated to decrease when introducing a ban on sales of new passenger cars with ICEs by 2030. Annual carbon footprints could be as low as 1.5 to 5.1 MtCO2 by 2060, depending on the decarbonization of background systems (i.e., vehicle and battery manufacturing, and fuel production). This can be compared to 5.8 to 9.1 MtCO2 (assuming increased shares of biofuels until 2030 in line with Swedish biofuel policy) if no ban is introduced. The effect of introducing a ban is delayed because of the lifetime of cars in the fleet of about 17 years.
Outdated thoughts vs electric vehicles
- ExxonMobil’s chief executive questioned the value of electric vehicles that are powered mostly by coal, he came up empty. His argument: if such automobiles are juiced by electricity generated by coal, then the net value to the environment is zero and the whole movement is thus a way to make environmentalists feel good.
Electric motors are the most practical option for anyone looking to save money. You would save nearly 75% compared to a gasoline engine counterpart.