how do hybrid-electric engines work and have much greater efficiency than standard gas engines?
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Hybrid electric engines have both a normal gas engine and an electric engine with a small battery (small for a car).
For standard cars, when they brake, they turn the car’s kinetic energy into heat, via the brakes; all that energy is wasted. For hybrid and electric cars, they use electric motor for regenerative braking, turning the car’s kinetic energy into electric energy stored in the battery. That energy is then used to accelerate the car with the electric motor.
Hybrid cars’ batteries are only large enough to store a few accelerations at a time, so it’s not going to get you far like a full electric car would, but it negates much of the gas car’s efficiency losses caused during stop-and-go’ing. So you’ll see hybrid cars with great city mileage, but only slightly better highway mileage.
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