• Question: When will we be able to use fossil fuels in vehicles

    Asked by Anish Petit to Andrew, Dona, Liena, Sandra, Stevie on 8 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: Andrew Allan

      Andrew Allan answered on 8 Nov 2015:

      Petrol and diesel are fossil fuels – people are now trying to improve the performance of electric cars. One day your car should be powered by the wind when you plug it in to charge.
      We want to stop using fossil fuels because they generate harmful gases for the atmosphere when you burn them in the engine.

    • Photo: Steven Wray

      Steven Wray answered on 9 Nov 2015:

      Again, Andrew has it spot on! The fuels we use in vehicles are mostly fossil fuels already. Petrol and diesel come from refining oil that’s been pumped out of the ground or from under the sea bed.

      If you want to not use fossil fuels in your vehicle then electric cars are definitely on the way! At the moment my favourite one is the Tesla Model S which can go over 300 miles on a single charge. Unfortunately, I don’t yet earn enough to afford one…

      There’s also the potential for hydrogen powered cars. They use a fuel cell which does the reverse of electrolysis: hydrogen and oxygen comes in, electricity and water comes out. Some of these exist today too but there isn’t a good distribution system for hydrogen yet!

    • Photo: Dona Galhena

      Dona Galhena answered on 9 Nov 2015:

      There are the 3 major forms of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas. Millions of years ago when plants, animals and other creatures died and buried under the earth, their remains gradually changed over the years due to heat and pressure in the earth’s crust and formed to coal, oil and gas. As Andrew and Steve have mentioned, we already use fossil fuels in vehicles. Petrol and diesel we use in vehicles are obtained from natural oil found underground, through a process called distillation.

Comments