Automobile – Car
Auto Mobilis in Latin means agile, easy to move. Automobile – a transport trackless vehicle, mainly on wheels, driven by its own engine (internal combustion, electric, or steam). The first car with a steam engine was built by Cugno (France) in 1769-70, with an internal combustion engine by Daimler and Benz (Germany) in 1885-86.
The most original of all automotive engineers, Frederick William Lanchester (1868–1946) had a very distinctive approach to design.
The first Lanchester was manufactured in 1895-1896 and was unlike any other car of that time. According to the chronicler of the automotive industry Anthony Byrd, “it was the first passenger car in the world, created on a scientific basis as a whole.”
The power unit was an engine with two oppositely located cylinders and two crankshafts rotating in different directions, each with three connecting rods. Both shafts were connected by gears with spiral teeth, so there was no vibration, which provided the engine with a balance unattainable at that time. The motor also included an original valve train and a fully automatic lubrication system. This amazing engine was paired with a glider gearbox, which in those years seemed the highest achievement of technical thought.
Who created the first car and when?
In fact, as in the situation with most human inventions, it is difficult to answer who exactly was the creator of the first car. There were many developments, many scientists in their minds invented something similar to the car. The developments were carried out in parallel. Some were more adventurous and declared themselves as the inventor of the auto, while others resigned themselves to the self-seizure of fame.
And what exactly should you call a car? Use a modern definition? Should we take into account self-propelled devices on a steam engine, or is it necessary to consider the presence of an internal combustion engine in the device as a mandatory sign?
Probably, everyone should answer these questions himself. Nevertheless, it is worth delving into the history and tracing how society came to the use of cars, even the very first ones, massively put on stream.
History of car creation
When asked who created the first auto, the answer is relatively complicated, since there were numerous developments, scientists constructed commodities analogous to an auto. At the same time, some tried to assert themselves, and some were extremely tolerant of fame and simply constructed.
The first vehicles were subdivided into the following:
Powered by a steam engine.
Powered by an internal combustion engine.
Electrical.
Now let’s go a little deeper into the history of the creation of cars and follow how society came to the use of such vehicles.
Long ago, Leonty Shamshurenkov created the first self-propelled vehicle, which is considered the prototype of modern cars.
Scooter carriage of Ivan Kulibin
Some people think that the very first world car was developed by the engineer Karl Benz. But we have to admit that he really made a huge contribution to the promotion of these vehicles.
Who is he – the inventor of the machine?
Leonty Shamshurenkov designed a model that resembled a car. An ordinary peasant who lived in Nizhny Novgorod. At the beginning of November 1752, his invention aroused interest in the Russian capital, at that time it was St. Petersburg. The design was a four-wheel stroller, accelerating up to 15 km / h and accommodating two people.
Alyosha Yedlika
Another inventor, Ivan Kulibin, showed in 1791 a carriage with three wheels, capable of independent movement. A new speed record was set – 16.2 km / h.
Abroad, Europeans were carpels to create a gasoline engine. Karl Benz is the main European inventor of such a four-stroke engine.
Schoenbain Christian Friedrich
German inventor Schönbein Christian Friedrich, in the 1830s. a hydrogen-powered engine was presented.
Anjos Yedlik is considered to be a pioneer in the invention of the machine with an electromagnetic motor.
From steam to internal combustion
Lenoir’s engine
As mentioned above, Cugno marked the beginning of the era of steam transport, which lasted the entire 19th century. Such machines were heavy, clumsy, slow, but they continued to develop and become more widespread. For such carts, they even began to write separate traffic rules:
in front of each “car” there was always a man with a red flag, who was supposed to warn other road users about an approaching steam engine;
drivers, who are also machinists, were not supposed to let off steam from the car near the horses, so as not to scare them with a whistle and not cause an “accident”;
the speed of the steam engine was limited to 3 km / h in the city and 6 km / h outside the city.
By 1850, the units, called locomotives, were used in agriculture, and then in the army for transporting heavy loads. In rare cases, such cars were created for everyday needs, as well as as an outlandish toy with little practical use.
Steam engines proved to be too clumsy and costly, so engineers and scientists continued to experiment until they developed an internal combustion engine.