We all heard it once or twice about how hybrid vehicles are the "new technology" and so "amazing"; Well I for one do not believe it's all that amazing or new technology as people call it, and here is why:
To me this is evolutionary rather than revolutionary because hybrid technology is well over 60 years old. With that being said,the very first hyrbrid was the Diesel-electric train! (this
was revolutionary) Thats right the train you see go by you when you wait at the stop gate actually uses electric motors to drive the wheels of the train while a huge diesel engine turns a generator that powers the electric motors of the train. This setup in particular is called a
Series-hybrid, which means a combustion engine turns a generator, and the generator is powering the electric motors.
There is another type of hybrid setup used in todays cars called the
Parallel-hybrid. This means that the engine and the electric motor work together mechanically in the drivetrain to turn the wheels of the car. Lots more information is available below.
Train Info:
www.uprr.com/aboutup/history/loco/locohs03.shtml
Hybrid setups:
www.gov.mb.ca/conservation/hybrid/faq.html#5
The inventors of the two types of electric motors:
The induction (AC) motor inventor:
www.crystalinks.com/nicola.html
The DC motor inventor:
chem.ch.huji.ac.il/~eugeniik/history/davenport.html