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Almost all cars today use gasoline, but my car runs on the sun. Solar cells on the flat part of the car turn sunlight into electricity. A battery in the car stores the electricity, just like a gas tank stores gasoline in a car. As I drive down the road, I slowly use up the stored electricity. When I run low, I don't need to go to a gas station, I just park my car in the sun!
My car is just like a car that was made by college students at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. The students raced the car in a solar car race called Sunrayce '97, which was held in the summer of 1997. They raced the car 1,200 miles, from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Colorado Springs, Colorado. They only came in 33rd place, but they were just happy they made it all the way to the finish line. The winning car went very fast, averaging 43 miles per hour during the race!
Solar cars make almost no noise at all as they run. They make just a quiet hum. And they don't make any smoke or bad smells. If everybody drove solar cars, our cities would have a lot cleaner air.
These boys are racing a solar car they built from scratch. | You can build toy solar cars and other toys that make electricity from the sun. Look for solar toys in electronics stores or toy stores, or you can order them from scientific supply catalogs. These toys use small solar cells to make electricity, so they don't need batteries!
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