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
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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
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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.
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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. |
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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.
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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. |
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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.
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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
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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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