Ciaz SHVS- The Mild Hybrid

"So what does a mild hybrid mean?" This was the first question that I asked myself as I saw the ad on tv regarding the new Maruti-Suzuki Ciaz. So the first thing I found was that it wasn't like the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Cars like Camry are what are known as parallel hybrid vehicles. However, Ciaz is only a mild hybrid.
The difference lies in the fact that parallel hybrid vehicles are those that use both electric and internal combustion engine to power its wheels. The electric motor gets its energy from the battery, while the engine gets energy from the fuel. Now, the reason it is called a hybrid is that the car uses both electric and combustion energy to move the car and while powering the wheels the engine charges the battery. So, the car saves and regenerates the energy while you drive. Furthermore, the battery is also charged when we apply the brakes: this is known as brake energy regeneration. 
On the other hand Ciaz is equipped with Suzuki's Smart Hybrid Technology (SHVS), which includes additional features like power assist, brake energy regeneration, idle engine start stop, and gear-shift indicator.
1) Power assist: The Ciaz has an extra battery, which helps in storing extra energy, ultimately translating into increased engine efficiency and unnecessary loss of fuel.
2) Brake energy regeneration: As explained before, this helps in recovering some of he kinetic energy lost when the brakes are applied. The Ciaz gets a unit called the Integrated Starter Generator(ISG), that helps in converting energy from braking of the car and storing it in the battery. This stored energy is then used to power the ISG, which as the company highlights, assists the engine's start-stop function and during acceleration.
3) Idle engine start-stop: This feature actually, is an excellent one for countries where heavy traffic and congestion exists. When the car comes to a standstill, you have to shift in neutral gear and take the foot off the clutch. This turns off the engine automatically. As soon as the clutch is presses again, the car starts, saving time and fuel.
4) Gear-shift indicator: The gear-shift indicator prompts the driver the best time to change the gear for best fuel efficiency. 
Thus the SHVS technology in the Ciaz make it quite cheap to run in the Asian countries. Besides the company claims a mileage of 28.09 kmpl, though as experience suggests, will be lower than the proposed number.
Overall, in my opinion, this car will be a game changer for Maruti-Suzuki as this is one of those cars which will give tough competition to other cars in its range. The best part is that like the Indian government, if other governments also provide a tax cut, then it will definitely be at par with cars like Honda City which dominates the cars in its range, including Ciaz. I feel good days are in store for this car, and it should nurture in the current scenario. 

The Basics of Braking

Long time no see. But what I learned was about the braking mechanism of a car. As I read in my physics class about pressure, Bernoulli's theorem etc. etc., what got me interested the most was its application in braking mechanism. Before this I had never really considered the mechanics of breaks. Earlier I thought that car breaks were similar to the breaks in the cycles, however it's not quite simple as that.

The Brake hydraulics
A hydraulic brake system has fluid filled master cylinder and slave cylinders connected by pipes. The master cylinder transmits the hydraulic pressure to the slave cylinders when the pedal is pressed. When a person pushes the break pedal while driving, he actually depresses a piston in the master cylinder, forcing fluid along the pipe.
The fluid travels to each wheel and fills them, forcing pistons out to apply the breaks. Fluid pressure distributes itself evenly around the system. The combined surface 'pushing' area of all the slave pistons is much greater than that of the piston in the master cylinder.
Consequently, the master piston has to move several inches to move the slave pistons fraction of an inch it takes to apply the brakes. The effect is similar to the enhancement of force exerted by a fulcrum to lift a heavy object. 

Most modern cars are fitted with a twin hydraulic system, with two master cylinders in tandem, in case one should fail. Different cases can be employed with the twin hydraulic system such as one uses to power the front brakes while on used to power the rear breaks. Or each system works the front brakes and one at the back. Thus many combinations arise according to the braking power power estimated for the use of a particular type of a car.
Sometimes while braking so much weight may come off the rear wheels that the brakes may enter a lock and the car goes into a dangerous skid. Thus the rear breaks are made deliberately less powerful. To prevent this kind of situation in which locking occurs most cars have pressure limiting valve. It calms down when the hydraulic pressure in the breaks becomes too high thus preventing a lock.
Further cars may even have complex anti-lock system that is  "aware" of your car's braking trends during a particular run. Such systems apply and release brakes in rapid succession to stop them from locking.
So this is what I learned about the brake hydraulics. Hope this was informative! 

The Quant-FE by nanoFlowcell

Undeniably powerful, undeniably environmentally conscious. These two expressions are perhaps the best description of this car. As the topic suggests, this car uses the nanoFlowcell technology. The naming is extremely clever. The 'F' and 'E' in the cars name stand for 'Flow' and 'Evolution'. Flow signifies that this car makes use of the flow cell tech and evolution states that this car has evolved the level of automobiles to an entire new level. So here is a picture of how the car looks.

  So what is this flow technology that I just mentioned? The flow tech is a kind of evolution in the batteries. Our cell phones, cameras and most equipment work on the Lithium ion battery. As efficient as this type of battery may be, when it comes to powering vehicles it fails. It goes on something called a thermal runway. This means that soon on continuous use of the battery it will get overheated and will ultimately melt down. So how to avoid this problem? Here comes the flow technology. The outstanding feature of the flow cell is that it is powered by a liquid electrolyte which is extremely stable. It barely degrades and is free from the "memory effect" both in charge capacity and regeneration. Once the electrolytic fluid is discharged, it can be charged again without any loss in the power capacity of the car. That means 100 liters of used electrolyte can be recharged and converted into 100 liters of ionically concentrated solution and thus power the car again. The company is still looking into recharging stations but has promised that they will be available soon.

So that means that the FE is powered by this amazing battery making it powerful and environmentally safe. Now an amazing feature that this car introduces into a design of the cars is the WOOD APPLICATION: CAPACITIVE SWITCHES WITH SENSORFLOW TECHNOLOGY ON GENUINE WOOD. The new SENSORFLOW technology creates a visual highlight of a type not seen in the automotive controls. At first we see only the pure, smooth surface of natural ash; however on switching on the vehicle, the capacitive switch controls become visible through the wood. Likewise shining through the wood are the bands of blue light that represent the flow of nanoFlowcell. The wood is so finely cut that light finger pressure on the sensorFlow icon is all it takes to trigger the command. With this innovation, the company is able to create a direct linkage to digital control with the simple touch of a finger on a sustainable material like wood. In addition its futuristic looking panel adds to the entire ambience of the car. Here is a look.

The blue highlights

Normal wood appearance

Further the nano flow tank in the back is a source of continuous energy till the car runs out of charge of the electrolytic fluid. Complemented by powerful motors this car is truly an environmental friendly beast. This car perhaps will change the course of sports cars and move the automobile industry towards a more eco-friendly future. Here are some other photos of this car.

The FFZero-1

In Jan 2016 Faraday future disclosed the FFZero 1 concept car. The company said that it set out to create a car which will provide a driver experience like none other. The FFZero 1 is a car that will help them achieve this goal. The company claims that the car will have a 1000 horsepower, 0-60 time under three seconds and a top speed over 200 mph. No doubt these are just theoretical numbers but Faraday future claims that it will achieve this in couple of years. The car looks something like this:

                            
The exterior of this car has a glass roof through which we can see the carbon fiber interior, the steering onto which we can attach our smartphones. Besides the stunning exterior and interior of the car, it is also supposed to have a kind of "sixth-sense". The car will have a 'UI'
based tech which involves interaction with the driver to give him a better driving experience.
One more brilliant feature that this car will probably have is its zero-gravity driving experience. Its structure will be such that the driver will reduced stress even at high speeds.
The car will also have a Halo Safety system, a system that supports the driver's neck and head along with a helmet that will not only provide you with oxygen and water, but also constantly check your body's bio-activity. 
However notice that this car is more of a racing car than a car which we will use in our day to day lives. Faraday future explains this little thing as well. They propose a technology by the name Variable Platform Architecture(VPA). This revolutionary platform architecture will change the entire viewpoint about the shape of the car. The company says that VPA  will basically operate on 'strings' of battery. Their battery will be a powerful but compact powerhouse which will store more juice in it than it will appear to hold. The company will design its base on battery blocks attached in groups of six. These blocks will then form strings. Adding or removing even one of them will enable us to change the way the car looks. So essentially the car can become a sedan, a compact car etc. the possibilities are limitless. This video shows the revolutionary VPA technology. The VPA will allow Faraday Future to execute models more efficiently than any other car company in the world. Since the company will be able to create custom designs and execute those designs efficiently, Faraday future may dominate the electronic vehicle market( EV market).

Drones

Drones are not something extremely new. So, why would I want to write on something that is not new? Well, recently intel made the the guiness world record of putting up the most number of unmanned drones into the air. Though it was a light and sound show, it involved complex coding and co-ordination on the part of the intel team to put up the show. Thus it reminded me of the immense potential of drones.
So drones are professionally known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Essentially it is a robot which can be programmed to carry out specific functions or it can be controlled by a remote.
You probably would have seen a drone at the toy store or read about spying drones. Well both of these are the extremes of the range of drones. While the drones available for personal use are the average remote control flying equipment, drones of higher quality can survive tough conditions, go into places humans haven't ventured into before, survive for long hours, capture amazing landscape shots and the list goes on and on. 
Why drones have received so much attention during the last decade is due to the unlimited opportunities they provide. Think in terms of  a commercial businessman; drones provide him with quick transport of material, provide him with necessary data by collecting it from a humanely unreachable location, ultimately reducing cost and increasing efficiency.
For a biologist studying animal migration pattern, drones can easily track the movements and transmit the data almost instantaneously. Further, in the field of space exploration drones have and are going to play a big role. So you see that drones can enter our lives in every little way; you name it and I can guarantee that there can be a certain use of drones in it. 
But what comes on the downside is the danger that these seemingly amazing machines can pose. To name just one: drone warfare. Though many countries contest that drones help them locate enemies in certain regions where planes and humans cannot, it is also equivalent to an unfair battleground. Dominance for the one who possesses the tech and disastrous for the one receiving its effects. Another issue pertaining to our lives would be spying on us to extract as much information one could. Imagine your biggest secret spilled out into the world, or the most precious trade secret leaked ontothe net.
In conclusion it all boils down to what our intent is. Drones, in short can be like a double edged sword i.e. they can be helpful and destructive. The biggest question that hangs over the unlimited advantages that they provide is the ethics of what is right and what is wrong. 

So If you have any views just leave a comment. Meanwhile enjoy the intel show I mentioned earlier!

BMW 2002: Hommage

The world's best Retro car designer, also famous for designing the "hommage" cars makes one more again. Yes, I am talking about BMW. The most recent was its 3.0 CSL hommage which was a modern take on the 70's race car. Similarly BMW has remade the 2002 Turbo model. 

The 2002 hommage

This concept is actually based on the 2002 turbo model, the very first to come from Europe with turbocharging technology. The 02 marked the presence of this company in the market and thus the making of the hommage model is justified at all levels. The very physical appearance of the car reminds us of the actual 02. The massive chin spoiler, the single circled yellow tinted headlights, the massive carbon band down the side all remind us of the 02 turbo.
The hommage model not only brings back images of the the original one but also embodies the material of today's era. The chin spoiler for example is not just to give it the coll quotient, it actually provides real downforce to the front part of the car. The iconic carbon band represents the modern material i.e. carbon fiber which provides an insight into the material of the car. The M-colored stripes inside the lower spoiler of the 2002 Hommage bring back visions of the same colored stripes on the lower chin spoiler of the original 2002. If you look closely, the turn signals of the 2002 Hommage are located separately, above the headlights, and are embedded into the horizontal carbon band, just like on the original. One could just go on and on with this car's features.
In conclusion, this car is a masterpiece in itself. It blend the old and the new in a beautiful 
way thar only few cars are able to achieve. It is another hommage design that BMW can add to its array of iconic designs.

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a month due to the continuous string of exams I had to take.
Anyhow, now that they are over, I will post some interesting things that I found in the following posts.

The Mercedes-Benz Biome

In the game "Asphalt 8: Airborne", a new car, the Mercedes-Benz Biome, was introduced about 6-8 months back. When I saw it for the first time I thought that it was one of those concept cars which would never go into production and probably too ambitious a project
to work upon. But, as I gathered more information about this car, I realised that though this was an ambitious car to make it was not impossible to make it and introduce it to the market.

So, why I thought it was too ambitious a car to make, was because this car would be born from a seed! I want to emphasize on the part that it would be 'born from a seed' . The scientists at Mercedes-Benz are devising ways to create the biome car from a seed. The car, in their specially crafted production units will be grown systematically and the end product will be car which is bio-degradable, emits oxygen, and has a body made from a special fiber called The BioFiber. The car would also run on a fuel called the BioNectar4534, a special fuel which would not emit any harmful gas. Both, the fiber and the fuel are currently non- existing but it will be available in the future.

The Biome

The roof of the car is made from transparent organic solar cells. Further the car is eco-friendly from the beginning to the the end. This means that that once you are done with the car, you can just let it have its own "natural" end. The only thing that has not been thought out till now is how the car will refuel. But that is a minor impediment in front of all the advantages it provides. Check out this video to have a better outlook.

The Tesla Model 3

So as you can see in the image, the new Tesla Model 3, is an elegant and beautiful electric car. The CEO of Tesla motors, Ellon Musk said that the world is in need of electric cars now.
He continued by saying that in this new emerging world greater concern about environment has to be inculcated into every human being and that starts with adopting sustainable means of living. Cars are an indispensable part of our lives and with the advent of electric cars we can move towards a change.

The Tesla Model 3

 Many electric cars have been around like the Mahindra Reva, Mahindra Electric etc. But what makes this one so special? Firstly, it is far more developed and advanced than the other electric cars. It has a longer charge per use and it has got better interior features which beats the other electric cars. Secondly, it has got much better aesthetics and looks which attracts many prospective customers. Thirdly, it's relatively low priced and that is a huge thing as it promises a low cost of running.
However, the CEO, Ellon Musk has said that the car will be in the market by 2017. That is once again a delay by the Tesla team. Another drawback is that these cars require a supercharger station. A supercharger station is like a normal Gasoline station except that you can charge your car batteries at such stations. Such station and electricity facilities are not present everywhere and definitely are not easy to set up. One more thing is that if you leave this car uncharged for one night then you will probably get about 40 miles less than what you get on full battery.
So, we should expect a great change in the electric car field in 2017 and perhaps till then more countries will come up with facilities for supercharger stations. The Tesla Model 3 will be a game changer and in my view people of countries which have advanced facilities must shift to this car.

Pre-Collision Technology

I was driving to a mall today and I noticed a car which escaped a major collision.The driver of that averted a major accident by veering sharply to one side. He had noticed an obscure road divider at the last moment. Thankfully no one was injured but imagine if there had been another oncoming truck? The crash would have been fatal. Thus the  bringing of Pre-Collision Technology again sprang to my mind.
Althogh this technology has been in the market since 2013, it is surprising that only a few countries and car companies around the globe encourage collision avoidance systems in cars. In India, I see only a handful of cars equipped with this tecnology to avoid bumps and road dividers. I have till now not encountered a car with a proper collision avoidance technology.

Anyhow, the question, first of all, is -what exactly is pre-collision tech?  Well, as the name suggests , it is a safety system for automobiles to reduce the severity of  collision. It often uses radar to determine the trajectory of your car and to alert you if you are going too fast or if your current speed will lead to collision ( a camera or laser sensor may also be used except that they are not functional in rainy weather).  For cars with lower speeds (less than 50km/h) the sensor alerts the driver to brake in order to avoid collision. For higher speeds the sensor tells them the best way to steer clear of the crash by using brakes and steering. A survey conducted in the U.S shows that using pre-collision tech can avoid about 28,000 collisions and save over 1,000 lives which are lost in car crashes.
The working of a pre collision system is simple. The radar sends out waves which on rebounding predict the distance of an oncoming object. It is simiar to an echo sensor. The sensors are always active and hence are called "active safety warning system". Some systems alert their driver by beeping or by souding an alarm; however, there are some cars which automatically start braking while alerting the driver, thus avoiding a possibly dangerous collision. Car companies like Ford, Audi, Toyota, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz have installed such systems in their vehicles.
So my verdict on this automobile tech is that it should be adopted by more and more countries and car companies. It is a good and advantageous technology which contributes to your safety and to that of others.

A typical radar and camera sensing combo in a car to detect
a possibilty of a collision

THE FIA-GT 1 racing championship

Most of us have come across games such as Real Racing 3 or Shift 2 unleashed and they have written in their description that these games involve the thrilling experience of FIA GT 1 racing. Ever wondered what this racing was? All of us have heard of major league racing such as Formula 1(F-1), Dirt racing or even of the now non-existing Formula 2 racing. However, FIA GT 1 racing is not given so much newspaper or media coverage thus not many people are even aware of such a racing.

(the logo of the GT 1)

So first of all this was a world championship sports car racing which was started by FIA in 2010. It lasted till 2012, a rather short lived time period, but attracted much thrill. The best part about this was that the sports car we see were able to actually "race" to their full potential.
Originally, Aston Martin, Chevrolet, And Maserati brought cars into this. Later; however, companies like Ford, Nissan, Lamborghini, McLaren, Audi, etc. ventured in.
The races were originally held in three continents i.e. North America, Europe, Asia. The 'Yas Marina' circuit was the only circuit representing Middle east. The South American circuits included 'Portero de los Funes' in Argentina and 'Interlagos' in Brazil. The European circuit included the famous and sometimes notorious Nurburgring circuit of Germany. China also had many tracks in the GT1.
The cars which recieved the most attention in the final season of the GT1 were the Nissan GT-R Nismo, The R8 LMS, McLaren MP4-12C, The Lamborghini Galardo and Murcialago, The Aston Martin DB series, the chevy corvette, Ford GT, BMW Z-4.
Now the GT1 series have been dissolved into the Gt series which continue to thrill audiences.

(THE 2012 GT1 RACING)

The Nissan GT-R in The GT1

(The Audi R8)

(The Aston Martin)

 ,                  

The Google Driverless Car

One major breakthrough about which I got to learn was the Google's new driverless car.
The internet giant is already famous for its various services and now has ventured into the automated car technology.This revolutionary technology has been developed by Google X
and the software installed in it is called the Chauffeur, a pretty interesting name in my opinion.
Many states in the U.S. have passed legislation to allow people to use these cars on the road. However, majority of them are still thinking whether to introduce the tech.
No doubt that this is a huge change in which people commute, there is still a question mark about the complete trust of people in these vehicles.
The positive and much desired features that it provides are 1) Using of the LIDAR tech and a special camera known as "Velodyne 64-beam laser" to map the trajectory and the connect with the maps to form a high resolution 3D trajectory to drive itself. It is like using google earth feature of street view to map the cars path. 
2)It has an amazing ability to sense obstacles and obtrusions in the path and veer around them as safely as possible. On many road testing incidences it has proved to be more efficacious than experienced drivers.
3)In many testing incidences with the disabled, google has found that people who are legally blind or are unable to drive have heralded this technology as ''pioneer'' not only in cleaner fuel etc., but also in satisfying and really fulfilling the customer.

However, as does every new technology have, this too had some limitations. The most important of them all was that sometimes the sensing ability of the car was not extremely accurate. On one testing incident the car sensed sandbags lying on the road and so it veered to the left to avoid them but instead crashed into an overtaking bus. Further the LIDAR tech is not so well developed as to sense every pothole on the road thus a few bumpy cases will always exist.
So, in my view google X has launched a revolutionary product which more and more countries should adopt; however only when the sensing tech will have improved a bit more. No doubt that this car/ a kind of A.I. will change the roads of this world but after a few years.
Google is making groundbreaking discoveries and once it has further perfected its model, the self-driving car will hit the roads in massive numbers.  

First of all I had been absent from my blog for quite a lot of time because my examinations were going on. Anyway, now that they are over, I have a few things on mind that I will post 

in the subsequent articles.

The Chasis

Often we hear the word chassis being flipped in the air when we talk about cars. Most of us know that it is the body of the car. What its made of or what what materials are used to make it lighter or how the performance can be improved by making alterations to the chassis are some of the many questions that go ignored in our daily lives. Thus today"s post will be dedicated to this.
The chassis gives the vehicle its structural integrity and with the help of suspension support, it makes sure that the vehicle "floats", i.e. runs without transmitting each and every bump on the road.
Earlier forms of car had a ladder frame chassis which was essentially a frame with two parallel steel beams attached with cross member beams. Though freight trucks still use this type of chassis, modern cars have "unibodied" (slang for gravitized towards unitized body)
which integrates the metallic skin with the frame of the body. Thus the frame can be lighter without a compromise on the structural integrity of the body. this typically leads to a quieter an smoother vehicle.
Now the case of Formula 1 cars is entirely different. With the help of advanced designs and materials the need for a frame is entirely eliminated. In F1 cars the structural integrity is not compromised, while with the removal of the frame the weight is reduced drastically. These cars use carbon fiber, an extremely light and durable material.(such designs where frame is not used are called monocoques)
Many sports car manufacturers like Ferrari, Lexus etc. use carbon fiber frames with aluminium sub-frames mounted on front and the rear. Lamborghini's recent Aventador roadster and Aventador SV have similar build tech to that of an F1 car.
Thus various types of cahssis exist today with new developments in it each day. As newer car models arrive better, sturdier and lighter chassis are coming into play.

A typical chassis

A monocoque

The Turbocharger

In the previous posts I had told you about the basic operating components of the engine. However, these alone can not give the car the boost it needs. For this purpose the"TURBOCHARGER" is attached to the engine. This name appears in almost all racing games. As I played one such game I realized that I knew the function of  all the upgrades
except the turbo(as it is called). All I cared was that it made my car go faster. Thus to find out more about the turbo I looked into it. Firstly this is how it looks.

  So, basically a turbo is based on the principle of injecting more air into the engine using turbine to suck in air. An engine can suck air only till a certain limit. However, the turbocharger takes in more air and forces into the chamber above the pistons. This helps in increased combustion of the air-fuel mixture thus producing more output and promoting increased efficiency.
The turbocharger can also be used to promote fuel efficiency. It manages this by  recovering waste energy in the exhaust and feeding it back to the main engine. Doing this ensures that most of  the energy-otherwise wasted- is utilized before the fuel is burned. Thus, by initiating this cycle the turbocharger is able to promote fuel efficiency.
Now the key components in the turbo are:
 1. the turbine  2. the compressor   3. the center housing rotating assembly(CHRA)
      The turbine: the turbine is responsible for forcing in extra air by spinning up to 
250,000 revolutions per minute(rpm).
      The compressor: This basically increases the amount of air inflow into the engine
      The CHRA: This connects the turbine to the compressor. It also has to maintain minimal friction to enable smooth running of high speed rotating shaft. For this it uses ball bearings coated with engine oil.

So this is what the turbocharger or the turbo is.

The Engine- part 3

So last time I explained how the spark plug operated. Today I am going to tell about the valves in the engine. The valves, though seem small and inconsequential, play quite an important role in the engine. A lot of times people ask what controls the inflow and outflow of air and fuel into the chamber above the pistons or how is a specific quantity of air fuel mixture administrated into this chamber? The answer is the valves.

The valves commonly called 'The Poppet Valves' are attached to long rod which pushes it down called the stem. First the stem pushes the inlet valve down which lets in the air fuel mixture. then the spring to which the inlet valve is attached retracts the stem and so the valve closes. The speed of this process is usually determined by the speed of the pistons.

The faster the pistons move the quicker the valves will open and close. Now the piston compresses the mixture. As the mixture is compressed the spark plug initiates a spark which ignites this mixture. Now the outlet valve opens and the heat generated escapes out.

The same cycle is repeated again.

Now the problem arises in racing or fast cars. The piston movement in those is extremely fast and thus the spring is not able to retract the stem and the valve quickly (This situation is called valve float). Thus, such cars are equipped with special type of valves called Desmodromic Valve, which being closed by a positive mechanical actions instead of a spring, are able to close quickly, thus facilitating fast and efficient closing and opening of the valve. This picture should you help you understand more clearly.

 

The Engine part 2- The Sparkplugs

Previously I talked about the air-fuel mixture getting compressed by the pistons which provided the force for the car to move. But what initiates this process? The answer is the Spark Plugs. It ignites the the air fuel mixture which leads to combustion of the mixture which leads to generation of heat which ultimately leads to the force which makes the car move.
The spark plugs are connected to high voltage source. When the circuit is completed the source supplies high amounts of electric power to the to the spark plug. Now you must be wondering that air is an insulator and doesn't conduct electricity then how is he air fuel mixture ignited? The answer lies in the fact that when huge amount of electricity (about 12,000-25,000 volts) is supplied then air gets ionized and is able to conduct electricity.
The spark plug does exactly this thing. Thus when the air fuel mixture is compressed by the pistons the spark plug ignites it and thus heat energy is generated.
Now the question arises that doesn't the spark plug conduct the electricity to other surrounding parts of the engine? The answer is no. This is ensured by the "insulator" present in the spark plug. It is made of a high resistance material which along with insulation provides mechanical support to the spark plug. The material used is sintered alumina which is not only provides insulation but also prevents the spark plug from glowing red hot. Further a corrugated part called "ribs" also provides insulation and prevents "leaking" of the electrical charge.
Now with the insulation on the outside the inside or the core of the spark plug is what conducts the electricity. The core of the spark plug has a negative electrode and a nickel plated positive electrode. The negative electrode helps in earthing while the nickel electrode provides the spark for ignition.
So this how a spark plug functions. Hopefully this picture will help you identify the parts I have mentioned in this post