How does an electric car motor work?
It’s all about electrons
Story byIoanna Lykiardopoulou
Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili(show all)Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.
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What is an electric motor?
Basically, theelectric motoris a machinethat can convert electric energy into mechanical energy, also called energy of motion. In our case, this conversion process is what makes the car move. This happens through the relationship between electricity and magnetism, we’ll get into that below.
What is inside the electric motor?
An electric motor consists of two major parts, thestatorand therotor.The difference between the two isn’t hard to grasp: the stator isstatic, while the rotorrotates.Inside the motor, the stator uses energy to create a magnetic field that then turns the rotor. The rotor is connected to a transmission, which turns the wheels and moves the car forward.
Where does the energy come from?
At first glance, this seems like a no-brainer: the power is provided by the rechargeablebatteries,right?There’s a problem here, however–the batteries use a different electric current than the motor.
To understand that, we need to dust off our high school physics knowledge.
There are two types of electric currents: the alternating current (AC) and the direct current (DC). The ACdescribes an electric current in which the electrons periodically change direction, while the DC flows in a single direction.
To get back to EVs, the issue is that batteries use direct current while motors use alternating current. There’s a simple solution though: we need aninverter.
The process in a nutshell
So, let’s sum the process up, now that we can follow a bottom-up approach.
The batteries provide the necessary power, but run on a direct electric current. The current is converted by the inverter to an alternating one that is compatible with the motor.Then, it’s picked up by the stator, which creates a magnetic field.The electric energy generated by the magnetic field turns the rotor, and that turns the wheels.
And, voila! The EV is moving.
HT –Groupe Renault,Fossbytes,Sciencing,Seai
Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up?
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