Love or hate cars, they are based on plenty of fascinating physics-based concepts. Fuel-injection systems, for example, rely on ultrasonic piezoelectric transducers, which – as David R Andrews from Cambridge Ultrasonics explains – are also vital for parking sensors. Also in this special issue, Susan Curtis investigates the new charging solutions that will be needed to power electric cars, which are effectively nothing more than large batteries on wheels, while Diandra Leslie-Pelecky explores the science behind some of the features in NASCAR that are designed to keep the drivers safe.
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