Shifting Currents Poster Draft
Stevie Chancellor
Layan Jawdat
Yiran Sun
Phoebe Wood
ABSTRACT
2012 was a breakout year for electric cars in the American market. Several electric car models – the Nissan Leaf, the
Ford Focus, and the Tesla Model S – were released to consumers, amid much press and excitement.
Motor Trend
awarded its coveted Car of the Year to the Tesla Model S, exclaiming, “At its core, the Tesla Model S is simply a damned good car you happen to plug in to refuel.” Nonetheless, public discussion surrounding electric cars is surging regarding adoption rates and the efficiency of the cars themselves. With all of this hype around the car, public understanding of how electric cars work is fairly low. The car’s engine is frequently misunderstood and, because of negative reviews surrounding many of the early versions of the car, consumers express concern about how long the battery will last. Amidst all this press coverage, we have chosen to examine and explore the inner working of the electric car and its promising future in the car industry in a project we have titled “Shifting Currents.”
HISTORY
1891: William Morrison
(of Des Moines, Iowa) builds the first successful electric automobile in the United
States
1893: A handful of different makes and models of electric cars are exhibited in
Chicago.
1890s-1900
FIRST WAVE
Concerns about the soaring price of oil -- peaking with the
Arab Oil Embargo of 1973 -- and a growing environmental movement result in renewed interests in electric cars from both consumers and producers.
1970s
SECOND WAVE
There are several electric cars on the market for American consumers, but have yet to become widely adopted.
Present day
IMPLICATIONS
Political Implications
Costs for consumers
Environmental Benefits
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Brain, Marshall. "How Electric Cars Work" 27 March
2002. HowStuffWorks.com.
<http://auto.howstuffworks.com/electric-car.htm> 03
April 2013.
• John. "Electronic Circuits and Diagram-Electronics
Projects and Design."
Circuits Today
. N.p., 13 Jan. 2010.
Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
http://www.circuitstoday.com/working-of-electric-cars
.
"Timeline: History of the Electric Car."
PBS
. PBS, 30 Oct.
2009. Web. 03 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/223/electric-car-
Georgetown University
Fundamentals of Technology
Professor Barba and Professor Ribes
Spring 2013
Follow us on Twitter @shiftincurrents or find us at http://shiftingcurrents.wordpress.com/
