Is an electric car powered by electricity from a nuclear power plant essentially a "nuclear powered car"?

Question

Is an electric car powered by electricity from a nuclear power plant essentially a "nuclear powered car"?

Answer 1

I'd say it would be like marrying your second cousin.  Kinda yes but your offspring may turn out a little weird.

Answer 2

You could get away with calling it that although as others have noted, most people when they hear nuclear powered car will think a car that has essentially unlimited range and goes years between refuellings while also being able to effortlessly climb hill, overtake, run an air conditioner, carry passengers, work at night, etc that does not describe electric cars at all well.

Of course if you take that logic a step further you could call a solar powered car nuclear powered, or even an electric car charged with wind and natural gas nuclear powered since all of those ultimately derive from nuclear energy so we restrict it to reactor or radioisotope powered cars of which only concepts have actually existed (or maybe IGE if that actually has scientific validity).

Answer 3

That is a funny way to look at it, but yes I guess you could say that.

Answer 4

In a manner of speaking it is although the energy changes form before it's received by the car it would not be conventional to call an electric car a nuclear powered car.  

By similar reasoning, humans would be nuclear powered as ultimately our energy comes from nuclear fusion occurring inside the sun.

Answer 5

No it wouldn't be, since the nuclear power plant only generates electricity. IT's just another form of energy turning into another form of energy

you know the good ol' law?

Matter is neither created nor destroyed, however it may change.

Applies everywhere.

Answer 6

No it is powered by imagination

Answer 7

You can consider just about everything under the sun as being nuclear powered...at least from the atomic analogy. Strange and mysterious little universe we live in... wouldn't you say.Energy along with most molecules strive to reach a equilibrium, either through transition or degradation. So (indirectly) yes... to your question. Directly no...there's not a transportable nuclear reaction occurring.

Answer 8

Technically, yes. But if you say nuclear powered car, people assume that there is a nuclear reactor on the car.

If you called an electric car powered by electricity from a nuclear power plant a nuclear powered car, then what would you call a car with a nuclear reactor on board? Same goes for wind and solar.  

Answer 9

It's a matter of semantics. If a city received all it's power from wind, it would be appropriate to say it's a "wind powered city".  Or a city powered exclusively by coal could rightly be called a "coal powered city".  

Answer 10

I wouldn't call it that.  I don't have a coal powered refrigerator or a hydro-electric microwave.  I do get your point - replace oil with nuclear, wind etc by using electric cars.  We just need someone besides Tesla to make a fun electric car (one that we can afford).

Answer 11

Bob now that is a productive point of view because for 80% of most peoples driving a car with an 80-mile charge range would be fully functional. Then for trips with longer-range needs a hybrid would be a practical lease or rental option. I can see a near future when plug in electric’s replace the majority of current cars because nuclear or solar electricity is so cheap in comparison to other fueling methods. But we do need better and cheaper storage batteries before this becomes reality. I like the proposed “X” prize to develop a better battery idea to speed such development!

Answer 12

How many nuclear power plants would have to be built to power all of the electric cars?  That is in addition to replace the coal fired power plants.

Answer 13

Nope.  How does the car know whether it's powered from electricity from nuclear power plants, from coal, from hydroelectric power, from wind, from photovoltaics, or some contraption that the Professor on Gilligan's Island dreamed up? An electric car is an electric car.  Where the electricity comes from is a separate issue.

Answer 14

In a way--  :)   :)