To introduce this blog, I would like to write that back in the days, I worked as a mecanical technician on automobiles and I am fond of automobiles. This blog will share you the history of automobile since the beginning of it. Sometimes I will share my personnal knowledge, occasionally I will share different documents types. Although, you will find that people wrote before me, so to not copy them, I will give you a large aspect with a timeline that explain a majority of informations.
Let's start with a little bit of historical events and also introducing engines types.
The very beginning of automobile is been around 4000 BCE in India. However, it was not called an "automobile" yet, since it was just a wheel made with wood but it was related to be a premise of automobile.
The very first car was made in France by Joseph Cugnot a military engineer between 1769 and 1771 and it is called the "Fardier à vapeur". The vehicule can reach the speed of 3 KPH which seems to be ridiculous today, but it was a proud invention at that time.
 |
| The Fardier à vapeur is not what we know now, is it? |
To understand how an automobile works, let's focus on the principle of an engine. (with also a little historical event).
Basically, you have to go back nearly from Joseph Cugnot work here with Thomas Newcomen (an English inventor) with his "atmospheric engine".
Thomas Newcomen work is based on the water physical properties, espacially the steam. As we all know now, water has different state (solid, liquid, gaseous, plasma (not really)) and in 1712, Thomas Newcomen had invented an engine that pump water out of coal mines in Britain, France, Russia and in the Netherlands.
The principle here of this engine is based on another work from a French physician Denis Papin who invented the first piston steam engine in 1690. In fact, Thomas Newcomen improved Denis Papin's work with making a giant steam machine.
An engine is a device that remove physical human work to make the job easier for humans or animals. However, if it is removing the physical work, then you will have to maintain the machines to continue working.
(New devices = New work)
Therefore, Thomas Newcomen steam engine broke and no one had solve the problem, until a Scottish engineer, who was James Watt. We all know James Watt in the International System of Unit, since we use the letter "W" to represent the power.
In fact James Watt improved what Thomas Newcomen did before, because Newcomen's machine had several manufacturing defect like the side cylinder of the machine on where the piston was. It was because of the material of it and the cold water. As soon as the piston went down into the cylinder to do the pumping part, the cold water had to be re-injected on the upper side of the machine to cool down the cylinder because the piston was pushed by the steam and it seemed to weaken the cylinder because it goes constantly up and down with the cool down part and the heating part.
To illustrate what I wrote upper before, "A good drawing is better than a long speech" translate from André Chevalier, Guide du dessinateur industriel, 2004, Hachette Technique.
 |
| Thomas Newcomen Steam Machine system. |
 |
| Watt Steam machine is basically the same idea of Newcomen's one. |
