That is not as doubtless today, however, because of the arrival of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI). Since 1991, all portable hair dryers have been required by U.S. federal regulation to guard you against electrocution should you by chance drop one in water whereas it is plugged in [supply: CSPC]. This applies whether the hair dryer is on or off. A GFCI is the bigger, polarized plug that you will find on many consumer appliances. After they’re plugged in, GFCIs monitor the amount of current that’s operating from one slot of a wall outlet by an electric circuit and back to the other slot. If they sense a leak in the present, they trip the circuit. (See How does a GFCI outlet work? for hydraulic motors pdf details).

Rimac was inspired by Nikola Tesla, the electrical engineer whose innovations have stoked the hearth for different automakers (including one automaker that, not coincidentally, shares his name). Rimac admits that there’s nothing environmentally pleasant about his automotive, and that power and performance are the real motivation behind the Idea_One [source: Isaccson]. An electric motor just occurs to be simpler than a traditional inner combustion engine, and the electric power source delivers prompt gratification.

But when the Atom seems to be like a racecar and runs like a racecar, is it really legal to drive one on U.S. highways? First, let’s outline «road-authorized.» Avenue-legal merely implies that a car meets sure authorities requirements for motorized vehicle security. The National Freeway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) establishes and enforces these standards on the federal stage. States might impose additional legal guidelines or rules that further govern what automobiles are allowed on the highway.