The Field That Turns the Wheels
In short: How an electric car's inverter, three-phase stator and magnet rotor turn battery power into torque, and how the same motor recovers braking energy that a conventional car loses as heat.
A 2:04 short film in the series “How Things Work”, narrated by intellect_voice_01.
Sources used in this film: US Department of Energy / US Environmental Protection Agency (fueleconomy.gov), “Where the Energy Goes: Electric Cars”; IEEE (IEEE Xplore conference paper), “Control Strategies for Electric Vehicle Drives: FOC Implementation with MTPA and Field Weakening”; Springer Nature (book chapter 'Three-Phase AC Windings and Their Magnetic Fields', Springer, 2026 book DOI 10.1007/978-981-95-8090-3), “Three-Phase AC Windings and Their Magnetic Fields”; Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Magnetism | Definition, Examples, Physics, & Facts | Britannica”; IEEE (IEEE Technology Navigator), “Traction motors | IEEE Technology Navigator”; PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine), peer-reviewed research article on free-piston engine generators, “Realization of a Novel Free-Piston Engine Generator for Hybrid-Electric Vehicle Applications”.
Sources used in this film
- US Department of Energy / US Environmental Protection Agency (fueleconomy.gov) — Where the Energy Goes: Electric Cars · View →
- IEEE (IEEE Xplore conference paper) — Control Strategies for Electric Vehicle Drives: FOC Implementation with MTPA and Field Weakening · View →
- Springer Nature (book chapter 'Three-Phase AC Windings and Their Magnetic Fields', Springer, 2026 book DOI 10.1007/978-981-95-8090-3) — Three-Phase AC Windings and Their Magnetic Fields · View →
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Magnetism | Definition, Examples, Physics, & Facts | Britannica · View →
- IEEE (IEEE Technology Navigator) — Traction motors | IEEE Technology Navigator · View →
- PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine), peer-reviewed research article on free-piston engine generators — Realization of a Novel Free-Piston Engine Generator for Hybrid-Electric Vehicle Applications · View →
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: US Department of Energy / US Environmental Protection Agency (fueleconomy.gov): Where the Energy Goes: Electric Cars
- Also: IEEE (IEEE Xplore conference paper): Control Strategies for Electric Vehicle Drives: FOC Implementation with MTPA and Field Weakening
- Also: Springer Nature (book chapter 'Three-Phase AC Windings and Their Magnetic Fields', Springer, 2026 book DOI 10.1007/978-9: Three-Phase AC Windings and Their Magnetic Fields
- Also: Magnetism | Definition, Examples, Physics, & Facts | Britannica
- Also: IEEE (IEEE Technology Navigator): Traction motors | IEEE Technology Navigator
- Also: PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine), peer-reviewed research article on free-piston engine generators: Realization of a Novel Free-Piston Engine Generator for Hybrid-Electric Vehicle Applications
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