Electric Vehicles - Term Paper Example

Such finite supplies necessitate current technology and development to be concentric upon finding alternate means of locomotion that service the needs of current and future human populations. One of the most relevant alternatives that currently exists within the field of transportation science is of course the prospect of the electric vehicle. Although the technology to produce such vehicles dates back to prior to the Second World War, it is only recently that the forces of environmental preservation, global warming, and the rising cost and ultimate limitations to fossil fuels have brought this technology to the forefront yet again.

Yet although electric vehicles offer a great deal of promise, the fundamental scientific proof of thermodynamics must be applied in order for the researcher/reader to understand why electric vehicles have not caught on to a more profound and/or successful degree. As such, the following analysis will consider the second law of thermodynamics as it relates to electric vehicles as well as elucidating a level of discussion as to several other drawbacks that electric vehicles currently exhibit (Tai-Hoon et al. 59). Naturally, such shortcomings should not be seen as a fatal blow to electric vehicles now and in the future; rather, it will only help to delineate why the current technology is not sufficient to provide a fundamental shift in the market and remedy to the transportation pressures that currently force the system to rely upon fossil fuels.

As a matter of clarity, the second law of thermodynamics states that entropy of an isolated system cannot decrease. This is due to the fact that isolated systems continual move towards a level of thermodynamic equilibrium; also known as a state of maximum entropy. This has also been used to express why perpetual motion machines of any type are impossible (Zhang et al. 517). Many of the current design strategies and business plans surrounding the production and development of electric vehicles is of the false belief that the creation of an effective fuel cell will herald the beginning of the end for the concept of entropy.

However, rather than this being taken seriously as a legitimate and proven scientific theory, this is in fact merely a sound bite that many investors and producers of electric vehicles have latched onto; devoid of any grounding in the reality of science (Gonzalez-Romera et al. 9317). Due to the fact that the second law of thermodynamics does not allow for any self contained system to perpetuate itself indefinitely without the consumption of resources to continue such a process as it was designed, no matter how efficient a fuel cell or alternative technology is released with relation to the electronic vehicle, it is ultimately impossible to meet the expectations of many individuals within the market (Abu-Siada et al. 17). Another problematic issue that exists with regards to the laws of thermodynamics and the electric car is the lack of understanding that many within society integrate with regards to where the energy comes from that powers these aforementioned electric vehicles.

Although the emphasis upon being “green” and environmentally responsible is a step in a positive direction for all those within society that seek to