his past September, at a race in Beijing, China, German

driver Nick Heidfeld was coming up fast on leader Nicolas

Prost of France. On the final lap, Heidfeld attempted a pass
but clipped Prosts car. Instantly, Heidfeld veered left, hit an
embankment, and soared into the air. His car flipped and
slammed into a shock-absorbing divider, shattering sections of the
vehicle. Moments later, Heidfeld emerged unharmed.
The two drivers were part of the first-ever Formula E event, a
racing series featuring only electric cars. Although the accident was
terrifying, it did help answer one of the questions about Formula E:
whether its battery-powered vehicles can deliver the same serious
thrills as other motor sports, like NASCAR or Formula 1 (FI).
The first Formula E season will feature nine races,
including events in Miami, Florida, in March and Long
Beach, California, in April (see map, beloiv). The host
cities determine the roughly 2-mile-long tracks, then clear
the streets for the day. During the main event, the drivers
will complete 32 laps of the course, cruising at speeds up to
225 kilometers (140 miles) per hour. Though the race lasts just
one day, it took years of research and engineering to prepare the
vehicles for these battery-powered sprints.

'^ M /t

POWER-PACKED CAR
One of the main misconceptions about electric cars is that
theyre slow. Ron Matthews, a professor of mechanical
engineering at the University of Texas, explains that
when compared with a traditional engine, the electric
motor is actually better suited to accelerationthe change
in velocity over time.
In a standard engine, a spark ignites the gasoline, and the
energy from these small explosions drives mechanical rods
Continued on the next page >

WORLDWIDE RACERS
The first season of Formula E is composed of nine races,
on city streets on four continents around the globe.

Del Este
Aires

ww SCHOLASTIC.COM/SCIENCEWORLD

15

called pistons up and down. Through

a series of additional steps, the
pistons eventually turn a cylindrical
shaft. Their energy is converted into
rotational energy, called torque, used
to spin the cars wheels.
With an electric motor, the
transfer of energy is much simpler.
There are no pistons: Magnets
inside the motor spin a single shaft,
which generates torque immedi
ately. Electric motors generate a
whole lot of torque at low speed,
says Matthews. That allows
battery-powered cars to accelerate
extremely well from a stop.
Formula E vehicles can go from
0 to 97 km (60 mi) per hour in three
seconds, only about one second
slower than gas-fueled race cars.
The reason an electric car acceler
ates a little more slowly than a
gas-powered car is the battery, says
Matthews. Batteries are heavy, he
explains. The motor has to work
harder to push that added weight,
so the cars arent quite as fast off
the starting line as the lighter, gaspowered vehicles.
DESIGN CHALLENGES
Unlike FI teams, which build
customized cars to gain an edge over
the competition, the drivers in the
Formula E series all use the same
vehicle, designed by the French
company Spark Racing Technology.
Theophile Gouzin, an engineer at
Spark, says not only was the added
weight of the batteries an obstacle
during the design process, but their
size was a problem too. Fitting the
battery case into the car was a real
challenge, Gouzin says.
The case holds 150 lithium-ion
batteriessimilar to those used in
laptops. Combined, these batteries
store as much energy as 10,000
standard AA batteries. But the
battery pack takes up space that
would normally be used for the
structural, weight-bearing parts of
16

MARCH 2 ,2 0 1 5

the carthe equivalent of the beams

in a building. So rather than adding
parts around the battery case to
support the car, designers made
the case itself a structural piece of
the car. The vehicle is all designed
around the battery, says Gouzin.
PUSHING THE LIMITS
Spark designers also had to find
ways to overcome various factors
that affect the race car at
high speeds. Aerodynamic
draga force that acts on
an object to slow it down
as it moves through air
becomes more powerful
as a car goes faster. The
Formula E vehicles have
curved bumpers that send
airflow up and over the
front tires. There are also
miniature wings called winglets on
either side of the drivers seat that
channel air over the cars surface to
reduce drag (see Inside the Formula
E Race Car, right).
Another factor is centrifugal
force, the same phenomenon that
pushes you against the wall of
the spinning Gravitron ride
at amusement parks. When
Formula E drivers speed
around tight city comers,

they have to balance their desire to

go as fast as possible with the pull
of centrifugal force. If they go too
fast, the car could flip. Thankfully,
the drivers seat is very close to the
ground. This gives the Spark a low
center of gravitythe spot where
the mass of the vehicle is focused
to help keep the car on the road,
explains Matthews.
All these design choices helped

INSIDE THE
FORMULA E
RACE CAR

WINGLETS *L
To re d u c e d ra g ,
s m a ll a e ro d y n a m ic
w in g s c h a n n e l a ir
o v e r th e c a r s
s u rfa c e , a llo w in g
a ir to ru sh b e h in d
th e v e h ic le .

STEERING WHEEL
D riv e rs u s e th e s te e rin g
w h e e l to c h a n g e g e a r s a n d to
m a n a g e t h e c a r s to rq u e
to c o n s e rv e b a tte r y p o w er.

lU A J S m A f lO ^ ^ R W ^ H R I S T I ^ E S I G r ^ R A C E C A R ) :
G A B R IE L R O S S I/LA T IN C O N T E N T /G E T T Y IM AG E S (BATTERY)

make a fleet of extremely fast

electric cars. Still, some racing fans
arent sold on the new sportwhich
they say is too quiet. Spectators
used to the roar of FIs gasoline
engines arent thrilled with the
mellow purr of the electric motors.
Others argue that the Spark
shouldnt be compared to F Is cars.
The point of the series, they say,
isnt just the race. Its also about

pushing the technological limits of

electric vehicles.
In fact, technological competition
is going to become part of the sport
in upcoming seasons. All drivers
will still get behind the wheel of
similar vehicles, but each team will
be allowed to improve the battery
system of its car. So in the years
ahead, it may be that the car
with the best battery wins.

DOWNFORCE

LOW RIDE

Instead of
generating lift,
like an airplane
wing, the
aerodynamic
bumper channels
air down so it
presses the
speeding car to
the road.

The driver sits close

to the ground,
partly to reduce
drag. Air flows
around and over
the driver instead
of pushing into him
or her, which would
slow the car.

For now, though, its all about

the drivers skills. The Spark might
not be loud, but it still demands the
talent of top racers. Driving these
cars through city centers is still a
very difficult task, says Gouzin. &
G reg M on e

BATTERY LIFE W r The 150 lithium-ion cells in the

battery pack last for roughly |M
half the race. Recharging m m S
would take more than an hour,
and the batteries are too hard
to swap out because of the mm
way their cases are built into I
the structure, so drivers switch
to an identical fully charged
car when power runs low.

COOLING

TIRES

Inside the battery pack, a

liquid cooling system draws
heat away from the electronics.

Grooved, all-weather
tires maximize friction
and increase the
cars grip on the road.

MOTOR *-----------------

FANBOOST S t

The electric motor

provides less than half
the power of a traditional
F1 engine, but that's
enough to accelerate
the vehicle to speeds of
140 miles per hour.

The three drivers who receive the t

most votes from fans prior to the ^
race can activate a feature called
FanBoost. This increases the
m otors horsepower by 20 percent I
fo r five seconds, allowing them to
blow past their rivalsbut drivers are
allowed to use it only once per race.

V ,

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