This is what happens when you hit the gas - Shannon Odell

翻译人员: Gia Hwang 校对人员: Sophia Ye

In 2015, two men drove a Volkswagen across the continental United States

2015 年，两名男子驾驶着 一辆大众汽车横穿美国大陆，

on just over 100 gallons of fuel.

只用了 100 多加仑的燃料。

Their 81-mile-per-gallon performance doubled the car’s estimated fuel rating,

他们的 81 英里/加仑的性能 是该车预计燃油额定值的两倍，

and set the record for the lowest fuel consumption ride of a diesel car.

并创下了柴油车最低耗油量记录。

The duo call themselves hypermilers

这两位男子自称为超节能车手，

and are experts in techniques that maximize a car’s fuel efficiency,

是极限提高汽车 燃油效率的技术专家，

such as the pulse-and-glide.

比如加速-滑行策略。

In the pulse, drivers accelerate slowly

在加速过程中，驾驶员缓慢加速，

until they’re traveling slightly above their intended speed.

直至速度略高于预定速度。

They then slowly release the throttle and glide,

然后，他们慢慢松开油门，开始滑行，

until they’re slightly below, and repeat.

直到速度略低，循环往复。

To understand why this strategy saves fuel,

要理解为什么这种策略能节省燃料，

we first need to unpack what exactly is going on beneath a car's hood.

我们首先需要弄清楚 汽车引擎盖下到底发生了什么。

Non-electric cars run on internal combustion engines,

非电动汽车靠内燃机驱动，

or ICEs.

即 ICEs。

Cars are often advertised as sporting a 4-, 6-, or 8-cylinder engine,

汽车常被宣传为配备 4 缸、 6 缸或 8 缸发动机，

which refers to this device's main components.

这指的是汽车的主要组件。

Within each of these cylinders is a piston,

每个气缸内都有一个活塞，

which moves up and down,

上下移动，

spinning a bar known as a crankshaft,

带动一根称为曲轴的杆旋转，

effectively converting linear motion into a rotary motion

有效地将直线运动转换为旋转运动，

that can drive the wheels.

从而驱动车轮。

What powers these pistons’ movements

驱动这些活塞运动的动力就是

is what gives these engines their namesake: combustion.

给这些发动机命名的原因: 燃烧。

As the piston lowers, air and fuel are sprayed into the cylinder’s chamber.

活塞下降时，空气和燃料喷入气缸腔。

Then as the piston rises, this air and fuel mixture is compressed.

随后，随着活塞上升， 空气和燃料的混合物被压缩，

In gasoline engines, a spark is introduced,

在汽油发动机中引入火花，

igniting the gas.

点燃气体。

In diesel engines, the compression alone creates a mini explosion.

在柴油发动机中， 仅压缩就会产生小型爆炸。

This combustion causes an immediate increase in temperature and pressure,

燃烧立即导致温度和压力升高，

propelling the piston down, as it starts the cycle again.

推动活塞向下运动，循环重新开始。

The gas pedal controls the amount of air and subsequent fuel

油门踏板控制空气量

和随后释放到腔室的燃料，

released into the chamber.

The more fuel in the chamber, the more powerful the combustion,

燃烧室中的燃料越多，燃烧越猛烈，

making the crankshaft rotate faster.

从而使曲轴转得更快。

Driving down the highway, ICE cars spark thousands of blasts per minute.

在高速公路上行驶时， 内燃机汽车每分钟发出数千次火花，

But explosion-power driving is pretty inefficient,

但爆炸动力驾驶的效率很低，

as much of the energy generated is lost to heat.

因为产生的大部分能量 都会转化为热量散失。

In fact, only 16 to 25% goes towards moving the wheels.

其实，仅 16% - 25% 用于移动车轮。

These explosions also create CO2,

这些爆炸也会产生二氧化碳，

and ICE engines produce 15% of the total global carbon emissions.

而内燃机发动机产生的 就占全球碳排放总量的 15%。

The pulse-and-glide can increase efficiency for two reasons.

加速-滑动可以提高效率，原因有二。

First, when accelerating to higher speeds during the pulse,

首先，加速过程中加到较高速度时，

the engine works at a higher efficiency

与以恒定的低速行驶相比，

compared to traveling at a constant lower speed.

发动机的工作效率更高。

And second, modern car engines shut off fuel injection or idle,

其次，现代汽车发动机在减速时，

会关闭燃油喷射或怠速。

when decelerating.

Meaning that as the car glides,

也就是说，当汽车滑行时，

the wheels are driven by inertial energy, rather than combustion,

车轮由惯性能驱动，而非燃烧驱动，

ultimately saving fuel.

最终节省燃料。

But even at their peak performance,

但即使在它们的巅峰状态，

ICE hypermilers can’t compete with the true champion of fuel efficiency rides:

内燃机超跑也无法 与真正的节油冠军相媲美：

the electric vehicle.

电动汽车。

Many EVs run on induction motors, which have two main parts:

许多电动汽车都采用感应电机， 这种电机有两个主要部分：

a stator and a rotor.

一个定子和一个转子。

The stator is a series of rings, with copper wires wrapped around it.

定子是一系列环，环上缠绕着铜线。

By conducting electricity at variable rates,

通过以可变速率导电，

these wires create a rotating magnetic field.

这些电线造成旋转磁场。

This field induces the rotor with electrical current,

该磁场会给转子带来电流，

causing it to spin, and driving the motion of the wheels.

使其旋转，并驱动车轮运动。

For EVs, pressing on the accelerator changes the frequency of current

对于电动汽车，踩下油门

会改变注入定子导线的电流频率，

driven into the wires of the stator,

in turn increasing the rate at which the rotor spins.

进而提高转子的旋转速度。

By utilizing battery power rather than gasoline,

利用电池而不是汽油，

65 to 69% of the energy consumed by EVs

电动汽车能耗的 65%-69%

goes directly to moving the wheels.

直接用于移动车轮。

And since EVs don't create explosions, fewer parts are needed below the hood.

而且，由于电动汽车不会产生爆炸，

引擎盖下方需要的零部件也更少。

While a typical ICE vehicle has over 2,000 moving parts

典型的内燃机汽车 有 2,000 多个活动部件

to help contain, cool, and maintain combustion,

以帮助控制、冷却和保持燃烧，

a typical EV has about 20.

而典型电动汽车约有 20 个部件。

EVs are completely changing the hypermiling game

电动汽车正在彻底改变 超级节油车竞赛规则，

as drivers compete to travel the farthest on the fewest kilowatt-hours.

因为司机们争相以最少的千瓦时 行驶最远的路程。

And records will likely only get more impressive,

而且，这些记录很可能 会越来越令人印象深刻，

as the design of EV motors allows for the introduction

因为电动汽车电机的设计

允许引入创新节能设备。

of innovative energy-saving devices.

For example, most EVs utilize regenerative braking,

例如，多数电动汽车采用再生制动，

where energy normally lost to friction is conserved.

通常因摩擦而损失的能量得以保存，

As the car slows, the electric motor operates in reverse,

当汽车减速时，电动马达反向运转，

capturing the vehicle’s kinetic energy to recharge the battery.

利用车辆动能为电池充电。

Some companies are even equipping EVs with rooftop solar panels,

一些公司甚至为电动汽车 配备了车顶太阳能电池板，

further increasing their range.

进一步提高其行驶里程。

Since they don’t burn fuel, EVs have zero tailpipe emissions.

因为它们不燃烧燃料， 电动汽车的尾气排放为零。

That’s not to say they’re always carbon neutral.

这并不是说它们总能做到碳中和，

EVs require regular charging of their batteries,

电动汽车需要定期为电池充电，

meaning their emission profile is only as clean

这意味着它们的排放状况

等同所接入的电力设施的清洁程度。

as the electric utility they plug into.

So as global grids continue to shift towards renewable sources,

因此，随着全球电网 继续向可再生能源转变，

EVs are also becoming greener,

电动汽车也越来越环保，

making them an even more attractive, hyper-efficient option.

使其成为更具吸引力的高效选择。