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But the must widely used form of transportation by animal power was by horse. Man would soon develop boats and ships to travel long distances over water and time would flow like the rivers and hundreds of years later, in the late 1700s steam power became the new craze. Steam power got the wheels turning amongst many inventors who put it not only on the tracks, but on the road as well. By 1770 the French engineer Nicolas Cugnot used a steam engine to power a three-wheeled vehicle. Steam engines were chugging their way through the U.S. and Western Europe for nearly a century. The next break-through didn’t come with wheels but rather with pages. In 1824, French physicist Nicholas Carnot published a book in which he explained the principles of an internal combustion engine that would use a flammable mixture of gas vapor and air. Carnot never made a working model but Jean-Joseoph-Ettien Lenoir, another Frenchman, used the Carnot’s book on thermodynamics to build the first working internal combustion engine in 1859. It was a two-cycle engine with one cylinder. The fuel used to power the engine was totally different from all other power sources used then, which was only steam power. Lenoir used the same fuel that was used in the streetlights at the time called illuminating gas, or coal gas. He was able to sell several hundred of his engines to power such machinery as lathes, printing presses, and water pumps. He would later attach the engine to a carriage and become credited with inventing the first ever gas-powered automobile, but more importantly, the automobile is credited to Lenoir. Interesting to note is that the only invention he made was a two-cycle internal combustion engine. The automobile today has items that are critical to have. If a major car company were to produce a car powered only by Lenoir’s engine it would never sell because of the essentials. The essentials are the necessary parts for an automobile to be an automobile in today’s world. If someone were to build an automobile like that of Lenoir’s today it would be nothing more than a go-kart. No one would call it an automobile. Automobiles need certain things other than just an engine and a horse carriage to be considered an automobile today for two reasons. One reason is so someone will actually buy it and another is because it’s the item is required by law. In 1861 a German engineer named Nikolaus August Otto built his first gasoline-powered engine. Three years later he would team up with Eugen Langen to form the Deutz Gas Engine Factory. Otto’s engine was based on the same principles of Lenoir’s. It was also a two-stroke engine with one cylinder but it used the different type of fuel, gasoline rather than coal gas. Otto and Langen learned of a way to gain more efficiency by compressing the gas before combustion in 1867. This led them to production of the first four-stroke engine. By the year of 1876 Otto created his most famous invention. A gasoline powered four-stroke internal combustion engine. The patent for the four-stroke engine was not Otto’s however. French engineer Alphonse Beau de Rochas patented it in 1862 but because Otto built the first working engine the cycle was often called the “Otto Cycle”. In a four-stroke engine, the piston moves up twice and down twice creating four strokes. The piston will first move down, this is the intake, or induction, stroke, in which the air and gas are drawn into the chamber called the cylinder. The next stroke, the compression stroke, occurs when the piston moves up to compress the gas and air. The piston will need a force to push itself back down. The gas and air compressed against the walls of the cylinder by the piston. In that small space is an ignition device called the spark plug, invented by Edmund Berger in 1839 that will deliver a small spark to the gas and air causing an explosion. This all happens in the explosion stroke, it’s the stroke that creates all the power in the engine. The piston, still having enough momentum from the explosion, travels back up the cylinder to push the smoke, or exhaust fumes, from the explosion out. This is the final stroke known as the exhaust stroke. All this movement from the piston moves the crankshaft. The crankshaft is connected to the axle, which turns the wheel. This was the basic concept behind the Otto Cycle through which Otto was able to obtain 3 horsepower, basically the power of a lawnmower engine. However humorous this seems to the modern world this was top-of-the-line, high-class, automobile and through the next 10 years, Otto was able to sell more than 30,000 of them. The Otto Cycle was nothing more than a go-kart. The only major part to it was the engine. During the 1890s Emile Levassor created the first transmission for the automobile. It was very similar to the cone-shaped clutch and sliding gears he observed on woodworking machinery. Without a transmission the automobile lacked speed and produced a higher RPM. This high RPM created more noise and vibration that lead to parts vibrating loose. Also gave a very poor fuel economy for the car. Levassor’s transmission wasn’t very efficient. It was more or less a rough draft that gave Louis Renault the idea to make a more efficient transmission. In 1899 he developed the general layout of a transmission which automobile industries would later use in their products. In Renault’s design, he placed “a propeller shaft with universal joints that drove a pinion and crown wheel linked to the differential on the rear axle” . Renault’s transmission allowed for more power in the lower gears and more speed in the higher gears . However, Renault’s transmission was extremely hard to shift as the engines advanced with more horsepower. Some people couldn’t drive because it sometimes was so hard to shift gears. This was due to the poorly designed clutch. Shifting was like hitting a piñata. A perfect 1-2-3 shift without grinding the gears was sometimes impossible because when the driver pulls it out of gear the gears are still spinning he/has to perform a technique called double clutching. Otherwise, the gears will grind horribly. This is because the clutch plates are not spinning at the same rate. The clutch wasn’t revised until 1921 by taking out the complication of sticking plates and replacing them with a single a single plate. Finally, in 1929, General Motors introduced the synchromesh gearbox. Richard Spikes simplified the complication of using all four limbs of the human body to shift the gears and drive with a manual transmission. Spikes, a black man, invented the automatic transmission in 1932. In France in 1933 Gaston Fleischel redesigned the automatic transmission. Up until 1970 three types of automatic transmissions were available, fluid coupling, hydraulic torque converter, or mechanical linkage. By 1970 the hydraulic torque converter proved to be the better of the three. By the mid-70s an electronic system was put into use one the hydraulic transmissions. The sensors could tell more quickly and efficiently if the automobile needed to shift down because of an upward slope. The automatic transmission doesn’t deliver as much power as the manual because of the lower gear ratio. However, it provides better performance because the engine doesn’t have to pause while the driver pushes the clutch in and shift to the next gear. Automatic transmissions have a continuous, uninterrupted power flow. The automobiles moving, but it needs something to stop it however, the Panhard-Levassor motor-car of 1890’s way of braking is not going to stop much. The Panhard-Levassor motor-car used a wooden shoe that would press against a solid rubber tire the same as the horse carriages of that time. Later, band brakes were used. Band brakes used a strap that wrapped around a drum that revolved with the engine and would tighten with the pull of a lever. In 1902, Renault invented the standard drum brake in which he used a cast iron drum that rotated with the wheel. Two brake shoes hinged together were mounted elsewhere so that they didn’t rotate with the wheel. When the driver applies the brakes, the shoes push against the inside of the drum. Another braking mechanism came into play in the mid-1930s know as hydraulic brakes. Hydraulic brakes use the same principle of Renault’s drum brakes but consist of a master cylinder that is connected to by fluid filled lines rather than a cable. When the brakes are applied the fluid in the lines push the master cylinder against the shoes, and the shoes against the drum. Frederick Lanchester experimented with another type of brake system as early as 1902. However, disc brakes never gain popularity until the 1950s. Disc brakes have a disc instead of a drum. The disc has two shoes on either side that grip the disc when the brakes are applied. Lastly, and most recently, antilock brakes. Antilock brakes have been around since the ‘50s. They were first seen on a airplanes and by 1985 Mercedes-Benz was the first automobile to have antilock brakes as a standard. Antilock brakes are what they are, they don’t lockup. The reason for this is a hydraulic sensor that maintains a constant pressure related to the speed of travel. If the sensors detect the wheels are about to lockup, the computer sends a signal to a valve, which reduces the pressure in the fluid lines. It doesn’t matter if a car moves fast or if a car moves quickly or if a car movies at all. If it can’t stop then it’s not worth a dime. A braking system is a must for all automobiles, old or new, and everyone knows that. Pneumatic tires were actually invented before the automobile. In 1845 the Scotsman Robert Thomson improved the tradition wooden tire with a non-stretchable material covering a rubber inner tube filled with air. The tire was main purpose was for bicycles and to cut down the vibration and skidding of. Thomson’s pneumatic tire, or “Aerial Wheel”, did provide a much smoother ride but didn’t attract as much interest and was soon forgotten. The people of the time preferred wooden tires and after wooden tires they preferred steel tires. Finally, the wheels beneath the bicycles were solid rubber. This didn’t solve the vibration problem, however. It wasn’t until Scotsman John Boyd Dunlop found the solution on his son’s tricycle. The ingredients used were rubber tubing, a one-way valve to prevent air from escaping, some rubber material, and tape. He connected the one-way valve to the rubber tubing, covered them with the rubber material, and taped it to the rear wheel of the tricycle. Dunlop, naïve of the patent by Thomson, patented his pneumatic tire in 1888. Dunlop had greater success because of the increase in bicyclists. Dunlop’s tires became a standard for bicycles in the late 1800s. In 1890, Charles K. Welch of Tottenham patented an improvement to Dunlop’s design by fastening it to the rim of the tire by a wire Wrapped around the inside of the tire. Finally, in 1891, the Michelin brother, Edouard and André, invented a removable pneumatic tire so the bicycle driver could repair a flat rather than a mechanic. The Michelin brothers were the first to use the pneumatic tire on an automobile during the race of 1895 from Paris to Bordeaux. Soon the pneumatic tire made its appearance in America during the Chicago-Evanston race. Benjamin F. Goodrich founded the first U.S. tire industry in Akron, Ohio. Goodrich made his first pneumatic tire in 1896 two years before founding the Goodyear Tire Company. In 1903, Harvey Firestone began manufacturing tires in Akron. Many improvements to tires followed afterwards. One is the tubeless tire introduced by Firestone in 1948 and is a standard on all automobiles today. Experiments on treads of tires have been done to reveal that “slicks” or tread-less tires work well on asphalt at intense speed. This is why racecars have no treaded, or lack of, on the tires. Recently, tire companies produce tires that can “keep on rolling” even after being punctured. The pain and discomfort, obviously, would be excruciating without pneumatic tires. Solid rubber tires are still in existence but only for heavy construction equipment. Not for road travel because of the lack of resistance to a sudden movement. Air in a pneumatic tire is not dense, therefore has the ability to compress and expand, simply put, to move. The pneumatic tires could only cushion so much bounce. There still was much need for improvement in the quality of automobiles. Something needed to cushion the ride more efficiently. Someone needed to invent the suspension system. Most people think the only purpose of a suspension system in an automobile is to make the ride more comfortable and less “bumpy”. This is true, but isn’t the only purpose, nor is it the main purpose. The main purpose was safety. Even with the aid of pneumatic tires the ride was still rough and this bumping up and down made it uneasy to steer. The first suspension system used leather straps to soften the blow of rough roads. They came out around the 1500s for horse carriage. The carriages were like and upside down table. The tops of the legs were attached to the leather strap and the other end of the leather was attached to a separate frame below. This however created more motion, which defeat the purpose of suspension. By the 1600s carriage makers used large C-shaped springs but still wasn’t efficient. With the coming of age in pneumatics, J. R. Heath designed the first pneumatic shock absorber, in 1896. The invention was nothing more than an air bag around each axle. M. A. Yeakley took the idea further by used springs that were operated by air. His invention allowed the driver to adjust the height by a manual control of an engine-driven air compressor. Still, there was a lot of bouncing. Emile Mors created a friction shock absorber in 1899 to help work out this problem. C. L. Horock followed his idea in 1901. Horock’s design, called the telescopic shock absorber, is still used today. It consists of a piston and cylinder inside a metal shaft. There’s a one-way valve in the piston so air, or on modern absorbers oil, can run into the cylinder allowing the piston to travel without restraint. The reason Mors called his design a “friction” shock absorber was because as the piston pushed against the air, or oil, it created friction. This then cushioned the vehicle as it drove its path eliminating the bounce that former suspension system could not. The battery is the gives spark to the spark plug to give the explosion to the four strokes. The battery is what gives light to the automobile and is very important to the completeness of to the automobile. Batteries have been around for a long time. It’s quite possible the ancient Egyptian’s had the knowledge of batteries. Some would say Alessandra Volta invented the first battery but in reality, he is the first to actually know what he invented. However, the automobile could never be powered by Volta’s battery. So in 1859 Gaston Plante, a French physicist, in vented the storage battery. The battery consists of lead plates that are dripped in sulfuric acid inside the battery. The battery was completely rechargeable and if it weren’t, the automobile may still be waiting to be invented. The battery in automobiles are charged and recharged over and over again by the alternator. If it were not, then automobiles of today would not make a 10-mile journey. Automobiles are a huge item of everyday life in today’s world. But to thank one man for this incredible discovery would be a far cry from home. Many would like to just thank Lenoir for sparking an idea that needed heated up. Some might rather want to thank Otto for his contributions to the automobile. Some French and Germans’ argue over who it was that invented the automobile. Though the truth is neither of them individually did, but they both helped. After their contributions came an enormous number of other contributions and discovers that have not even been tapped on in this article. To say one man invented the automobile is just plain foolishness. The automobile was invented, but the automobile is not yet done being created. All of the devices and systems described above are needed to have an automobile today. Were they needed 100 years ago? No, but now they most be on the frame for it to legally be consider an automobile. It was stated earlier, the automobile of yesterday is but a go-cart of today. This is because of all the standards set on the automobile, not just by law but by society as well. If it doesn’t go faster than 30mph, it’s not and automobile; if it has continuous treads like that of a tank or bulldozer, it’s not an automobile. These are the standards made up by society whether society knows it or not. To better understand the concepts of the automobile of today, car manufacturers must use the knowledge used to manufacture cars from years ago. Some of the same exact concepts printed in Nicholas Carnot’s book are used to make an internal combustion engine today, nearly 180 years later. This is why not one man invented the automobile but a list of many men and women are helping to further the advancement of the invention of the automobile by building it from yesterday. Obviously, without and engine, the car will not move, unless in the presence of a down hill slope. Without the four-stroke engine, an automobile would lack power and speed. Likewise, without the transmission, the automobile would not have any power or any speed. However, it doesn’t matter how much power or how much speed the vehicle has if it cannot be slowed down it’s useless. Brakes are not only an essential but are a safety requirement for the automobile as well. Pneumatic tires are somewhat of a safety requirement too. To drive a car on the highway with solid rubber tires would be suicide because of the lack of movement within the tire. Pneumatic tires accommodate for this requirement as a cushion of air. Working well in hand with pneumatic tires is the suspension system. Without it the driver could easily be thrown out of the vehicle by the smallest of potholes. Lastly, is the battery, and to have a car in the 21st century without a battery would seem to be insane. However, the future may be able to redesign the automobile to being solar powered. No one knows what to expect 50 years from now. Nikolaus Otto thought the car would be forgotten by the 1900s. But through his work and through the work of others, the inventors of today and tomorrow are and will be able to create and invent automobiles from yesterday and today for the future of tomorrow. Bibliography: BIBLIOGRAPHY Travers, Bridget. (1994). The World of Invention. Detroit, Michigan: Gale Research Williams, Trevor I. (2000). A History of Invention. New York, New York: Checkmark Books Heyn, Ernest V. (1972). A Century of Wonders. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company Inc. National Inventors Hall of Fame, The. [Online]. Available http://www.invent.org/book/research/intex.html, September 14, 2001 Word Count: 3297
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