Question....

As you drive your car the engine heats up, but it can't get too hot. So what cools the engine? The radiator. But the radiator gets hot as well, so there is a radiator fan to keep that cool. There is a motor inside the radiator fan. What keeps that motor cool? Is there an even smaller radiator and radiator fan for the motor inside the radiator fan?
And if not, then that means the motor in the radiator fan is efficient at keeping cool - if this is the case then why not just make a larger version of that motor to use in cars, leaving no need for a radiator and fan in the first place?

I've always wanted to know the answer to that....

engine coolant

The motor in the radiator fan...what keeps it cool...that's what I need to figure out..

engine coolant

Air cools the electric fan.

Your car engine works by burning gasoline, which produces a lot of heat, which is why it needs the extra cooling system. The heat couldn't radiate fast enough without the extra cooling system and parts of your engine would melt.

The fan runs on an electric motor, and electric motors don't generate as much heat as gasoline ones. Air running across the surface of the motor transfers enough heat from the motor to the surrounding environment to keep the motor at a stable operating temperature.

Also, the fan doesn't cool the radiator by itself, as you drive air flows in through the grill over the radiator. The fan is there to push extra air through the radiator when you're idling or if you're in stop-and-go traffic. If your car is moving, there's enough airflow to cool the radiator.

quote:

---

why not just make a larger version of that motor

---

Electric cars.

I forgot to ask, why do you assume that a motor that is "efficient at keeping cool" has the capability to "efficiently turn energy into movement"?

Spinning a fan requires one set of characteristics, moving a car requires another.

Anyhow, the biggest problem facing electric cars isn't their motors, it's their batteries.

Hydrogen fuel cells are the most promising solution to that problem.