Alternative fuel vehicles

 Youngsters should not be underestimated, as some kids have proved in recent times, inventing, innovating, and creating machines for a better tomorrow. Listed here are the stories of 10 cars that are run on alternative fuels, made by people who were still teenagers then.

1. Texas Teen Builds his Own Electric Car on $10,000 Budget

Lucas Loborde is only 17 and he has converted a normal fuel run car into an innovative, battery run vehicle. The work on the car started when Lucas' dad bought a Kit car from e bay for $ 5000. Spending around 150 hours and around 5 grands more, Lucas creatively converted the car into one run on batteries by removing its fuel tank and fitting 8 batteries in the car in various different locations.

Union Ironclad U.S.S. Monitor, 1862

Though a comparatively tiny vessel whose foundering during a gale off notorious Cape Hatteras, Virginia on new year’s eve, 1862, taking sixteen of her crew down with her, was barely noticed by the press at the time, the sinking spelled a tragic end to one of the most revolutionary ships of its era. The brainchild of a little known naval engineer by the name of John Ericsson, the Monitor, in being the first all-metal, turreted warship in history, became the prototype for what would become the standard for warship design for the next century and a half. Derisively called a “cheesebox on a raft” by both sides, the little ship changed the face of naval warfare forever when it battled the South’s own ironclad warship, the CSS Virginia, to a draw off Hampton Roads, Virginia in March of 1862. While the battle did little to affect the outcome of the war, it signaled the end of wooden sailing vessels with fixed cannons and initiated the age of steam-driven, ironclad warships with revolving turrets, making the battle—and the ship—one of the most important in history. The ship’s precise location remained unknown for over a century until it was located 16 miles off the Virginia coast in 1973, after which is was designated a national historic landmark, making it off-limits to divers and salvagers. Eventually, however, the government gave authorization for elements of the ship to be brought to the surface, resulting in the recovery of its massive steam engine and, in 2002, its revolutionary turret. The site is now under the supervision of NOAA, with many artifacts from the ship, including her turret, cannon, propeller, anchor, engine and some personal effects of the crew, being put on display at the Mariners’ Museum of Newport News, Virginia.

Great Lakes Ore Carrier Edmund Fitzgerald, 1975

While most people imagine the vast oceans to be the most dangerous waters to sail upon, some of the roughest waters in the world are actually experienced on the Great Lakes, which has more non-war related shipwrecks per square mile than any other body of water in the world. Without doubt, the most famous of these took place on November 10, 1975, when the gigantic ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald, at one time the largest ship on the Great Lakes and holder of numerous tonnage records, was caught in a vicious November gale and, after hours of battling high winds and 30-foot waves, suddenly disappeared from radar without as much as a single distress call, taking all twenty-nine members of her crew down with her. The loss would likely have remained little known outside the Great Lakes maritime community had not singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot written a popular song about the sinking in 1976, immortalizing the ship’s demise and making her the most famous shipwreck on the Great Lakes. While the precise cause of the sinking has never been determined, later surveys done on the wreck revealed that the 800-foot long craft broke in two, suggesting it either “bottomed out” on the shallow lake bottom and broke in two, or it was wrenched in two by a rogue wave and plunged to the bottom of the lake in mere minutes. Whatever the cause, the ship remains off-limit to divers as a grave and continues to serve as a reminder that even the largest vessels are no match for the Great Lakes when—as the song says—the gales of November come early.

Steamship S.S. Republic, 1865

When this Civil War-era side-wheel steamship sank during a violent gale off the Georgia coast in October, 1865, it went down with something other than the ordinary goods most vessels of the era carried. In the case of the Republic, her holds were filled with tons of silver and gold coins and ingots being transported from the West Coast to help rebuild the war-ravaged south, making her loss an incalculable financial blow to the country at a time when it was still struggling to regain its economic legs after four years of civil war. (The only positive thing from the sinking was that the ship’s entire crew and passengers managed to get off safely before the ship foundered, making it one of the few famous shipwrecks that did not result in loss of life.) The ship’s precise location remained unknown until 2003, when she was finally located after an extensive search some 100 miles off the Georgia coast in nearly 1,700 feet of water. The subsequent recovery effort not only yielded one of the largest caches of gold and silver coins in history, but included a fascinating assortment of 19th century goods that revealed much about life in the mid-nineteenth century. By the time the recovery was concluded, over 51,000 U.S. gold and silver coins had been recovered along with nearly 14,000 artifacts, making it not only the richest find in the history of salvaging, but the highest-tech archaeological excavation ever conducted. So successful—and lucrative—was the expedition, in fact, that it set a precedence for the emerging field of deep-water shipwreck exploration and recovery.

Best range electric cars

 With vehicular traffic on the road being one of the biggest threats to our ecosystem, environment preservation is the need of the hour. Pollutants released from cars are hazardous and contribute heavily towards global warming. A good way to reduce carbon emissions is to switch to electric cars which have twin sources of power, both electric batteries and gasoline run engines. The electric batteries are a boon in lieu of rising gas prices making these cars a cost efficient option for the future. As more and more electric cars are making a foray into the market, only the ones with energy efficiency will survive the cut throat competition. A few such cars have been put together in the list below:

1. Shelby Aero EV

This electric Hybrid from Shelby Supercars is aspiring to be the fastest among its contemporaries and it has the capability to achieve this feat. The fully charged battery could keep the car running for as long as 150 miles. Also, it takes only

Why you should buy an electric bicycle

 In today’s world where the threat of global warming and toxic emissions loom large, everyone from a common citizen to big corporate giants is becoming conscious of his or her contribution towards the environment and more importantly lack of it towards this. This has led to a surge in environment friendly products and vehicles. One of these is electric bikes. But why should you be bothered about it? Is it just about saving the planet or is there any other higher purpose to it? Let’s check out top seven reasons why you should buy an electric bike:

1. Remain fit

How many times have you thought, ‘my clothes don’t fit me anymore’ or ‘wish I had time to exercise’. Well, wish no more, electric bikes are here and they will make you work out while you go to work, to shop, or meet friends. They help in burning calories to keep you in shape.

Green cars designed for the race track

 Hemmed in by environmental concerns and the ever present fuel price anxiety, vehicle manufacturers are forced to look at alternate sources of power and with good consequence for this has led to the birth of hybrids, alternate fuels and electric powered cars. Decades ago electric cars were frowned upon with their limited range and poor power.

1. Fisker Karma

Designed by Henrik Fisker, Fisker Karma is a plug-in hybrid four-door sports car. Powered by a pair of electric motors that derive their power from a Lithium-ion battery pack, this car is capable of a top speed of 125 mph. This car features two