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Cars

Our forefathers did not know any means of transportation. They mainly relied on their physical strength to carry things and move from place to place.  When our forefathers found that moving heavy things was much easier when the load was put on a piece of wood and drawn by a rope, they thought of making a "slide" which was probably the first land means of transport known by man. Our forefathers also used animals such as bulls, donkeys, and later horses to move from place to place and to draw these slides.

The invention of the wheel

The invention of the wheel was one of the greatest achievements in the field of transportation. However, it was not known exactly who invented it and when. Anyhow, there are some drawings and inscriptions on the walls of the monuments of Mesopotamia that show wheeled vehicles. These wheels were steel disks that fixed a number of pieces of wood together. These drawings date back to at least 3000 B.C, yet it is very probable that wheels may have been invented a long time before this date. Although wheeled carriages were not known in Egypt until the Hyksos occupied it at the end of the eighteenth century B.C., yet the Egyptians were the firs to develop these wheels and added some fundamental improvements to them. They were developed to be easily mobile, light, and highly resistant. Later, the Greeks and the Romans took these ideas from the Egyptians and they also added some new improvements.

The first generation of cars

The dream of inventing a mechanical means of transportation to carry people from place to place obsessed man for a long time. Such mechanical means would replace the carriages drawn by horses or other animals which were the main means of transportation for thousands of years. This dream was realized in approximately 1769, when the French engineer Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot invented the first self-propelled steam-powered vehicle. This vehicle is considered the first form of modern cars. This car was a heavy, three-wheeled vehicle with a large steamer in the front to generate the steam required to run the motor. It was a slow-moving vehicle with a speed of 3 to 5 kilometers per hour only. It had to stop every fifteen minutes to be refilled with water.

This vehicle caused the first car accident in the world when its inventor crashed into a wall. An extremely short period after it was invented, this model of vehicles was no longer used.

The motor

More efforts were exerted for about one hundred years to develop the steam-powered vehicle. Yet, within this period a fast-moving, usable vehicle was not made until the internal-combustion engine was designed. This engine replaced the steam-powered engine. The invention of this engine is ascribed to a number of mechanical technicians such as the French engineer Etienne Lenoir, two German engineers, Rudolf Diesel Eugen Langen and August Otto, and the two Italian technicians, Barsanti and Matotchi.

The two German engineers Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler are the real innovators of modern vehicles. They invented the first vehicle with a gasoline-run motor. The interval between their inventions was no more than several months (1885 – 1886).

 Karl Benz independently fit his lightweight gasoline engine to a three-wheeled vehicle and this motor was put longitudinally in the rear of the vehicle.

 

In 1888, the English inventor, John Boyd Dunlop, developed the pneumatic bicycle tire. These tires had a great effect on increasing vehicle speed and mobility.

A car for everyone

The most important event that led to the wide-spread use of cars throughout the world happened in the US, when Henry Ford developed the first popular, cheap, easy to drive, elegant, and high-speed automobile in 1908. He called this vehicle the Model T-Ford.

This vehicle was widely acceptable to the extent that about 15 million vehicles were sold before its manufacture came to an end in 1927. Thus, the Ford vehicle was the first popular car.

More comfortable driving

When they were first developed, most vehicles did not have enclosed car bodies to protect the passengers. Later on, they had strong, nice looking enclosed car bodies. Besides, vehicles were provided with boots and the vehicles themselves became stronger and faster.

During World War II (1939 – 1945), vehicles that could be driven over bumpy land were developed. After the war, other types of vehicles were developed. Some of them could be driven in deserts, jungles, on beaches, and in water which came to be known as amphibious vehicles which appeared in the 1960's.

Later, many improvements were added which made driving a vehicle a great joy. Vehicles became air-conditioned, and they were provided with different means of communications and media such as phones, radio, TV … etc. Vehicles also became faster and made less noise. Most countries attached great importance to establishing networks of wide, paved roads especially designed for vans and buses as well as other means of transportation. In addition, many service and maintenance centers as well as gas stations were built.

Most countries also issued laws and legislations that organize car driving and pedestrian movements. These are known as traffic laws. These are internationally recognized traffic teachings, signals and marks which car drivers and pedestrians should observe for safety reasons.

Vehicles and pollution

In recent statistics, there are more than five hundred million vehicles and trucks all over the world. If this large number of vehicles and trucks lined up in a row, they would cover a distance equal to rotating around the earth about 50 times.

It is well-known that the number of vehicles is increasing on a daily basis. Gas wastes are emitted from this large number of vehicles and trucks. These gases are called fumes which are driven out of the vehicle's exhaust pipe. These are poisonous fumes that cause dangerous environmental pollution. They may convert rain into acid rain that poisons plants and lakes. Additionally, large quantities of fumes emitted from vehicles to the earth's atmosphere reduces the escape of infrared radiation from the earth, causing global warming or the high temperature of the earth. This led to droughts in some parts of the world. If lead, which is added to gasoline for better operation of motors, is taken into consideration, it also causes the emission of extremely dangerous wastes that cause respiratory problems and affect the whole environment.

The future vehicle

Recently, scientists succeeded in developing electric cars which utilize alternative power instead of the environmentally-harmful gasoline. These cars have an electric motor powered by a system of rechargeable batteries. These cars are now used in performing some tasks that do not require long distance driving, especially since they lose electric power in a short time. Scientists have attempted to develop better batteries that will make the electric car available for all people.

Scientists also succeeded in developing a car powered by solar energy that converts into electric power. These cars have special plates (solar cells) that convert sun light into electricity that powers the car motor.  However, these cars are not highly efficient so as to replace gasoline-operated vehicles. But who knows? They may be invented in the very near future.

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