Electric or fossil fuels? Which is less expensive in resistance to movement?

The Internal Combustion Engine is a complex, amazing machine. In perfect concert, valves open, spark plugs ignite, pistons move, and the crankshaft turns. Every fourth cycle an air-fuel mix explodes and a piston is forced down. The crankshaft converts the linear motion of the piston and connecting rod to rotational motion that eventually propels the vehicle.

Internal Combustion Engine power output could be improved with faster rotation. However, combustion engines have a limit to how fast they can spin - as RPM exceeds 5,000 or 6,000 it becomes challenging and costly to keep the timing of the engine on track and keep all of the parts together.  For example think of the springs that push the valves closed: a spring can only bounce back into place so quickly.  As the engine RPM increases the springs can fall behind and the valve could end up striking the piston, leading to catastrophic engine failure.

Unfortunately, Internal Combustion Engine (click here) complexity results in wasted energy. At best, only 30% of the energy stored in gasoline is converted to forward motion. The rest is wasted as heat and noise. When the engine is not spinning, there is no torque available. In fact, the engine must turn at several hundred revolutions per minute (RPM) before it can generate enough power to overcome its own internal losses – that’s why cars idle around 1,000 RPM when at rest.

Electric MOTORS, not electric engines, are more efficient at producing energy in a complex system of movement.