Dumb question, If the purpose of an alternator is to generate electricity, then why don't electric cars have alternators? If electric cars had alternators, then they wouldn't need to be charged, right? What am I missing?
What am I missing?
You might want to review your grade school physics lessons.
Chicago Public Schools LOL
Darn physics bites us in the butt every time
That's why we can't have anything nice.
Well, what is required to spin said alternator? The engine is that source. It's powered by gas. You need some form of other, non-electrical energy to convert into electricity, that's what the alternator does. In the case of gas, the alternator used the chemical energy in the gas and converted it into electricity when it ignited the gas. You can't go from nothing to electricity. Something that has energy has to be sacrificed, and there's always energy that's lost you can't build a perpetual motion machine. Energy can't be created or destroyed.
Heat loss (including friction)
A refresher course in the laws of thermodynamics:
1. You can't win.
2. You can't break even.
3. You can't get out of the game.
What am I missing?
probably that alternators slow the car down. They eat about 1.5 horsepower. (which they turn into electricity, surprise surprise) A lot of people seem to miss that part.
No conversion process is 100% efficient
There is no free lunch no matter how hard we try.
(On Earth, anyway. Total energy in the universe seems to be increasing as it expands. We haven't worked that one out yet)
I think you're meaning entropy, which is basically permanently disorganized energy. That part is really weird.
yes entropy increases, but so does total energy . Space is expanding exponentially, and empty space contains a huge amount of energy. So called "zero point energy". But because it's the same everywhere, we can't tap into it and use it.
Interesting, for sure.
when an alternator spins, there is a force preventing it from spinning. You’re using electricity to make the car go, so the alternator can spin. Energy out != Make the car go + spinning alternator.
