Get your own Free Home PageAutomobiles
Asbestos
Carbon monoxide
Detroit
Engines, Heat
Ford, Henry
Heat
Michigan
Speed
Transportation
AUTOMOBILES As recently as 50
years ago all the members of a family would run to the window to watch
an automobile pass. They watched the "horseless carriage" to see if it
could climb the next hill. They wondered what would happen to the passengers
in a rain storm. People joked about the early cars, but almost everybody
wanted to own one.
The automobiles of 50 years ago did not look much
like the cars of today. They looked more like the horse-drawn buggies and
carriages people were used to riding in. Some of the early cars even had
sockets for buggy whips.
The idea of using an engine of some kind to turn
the wheels of a carriage is really quite old. The first automobile accident
happened in 1769, nearly 200 years ago. A steam carriage built by the Frenchman
Nicolas Cugnot (Kune YO) overturned on a curve. It was traveling less than
three miles an hour!
In 1831 steam carriages carrying 18 passengers were
making regular trips between cities in England. They averaged about five
miles an hour. But toll road keepers began raising their rates on steam
carriages. People sometimes threw stones at the carriages. The government
also began passing laws against them. One of these laws, called the Red
Flag law, said that a man had to walk in front of any steam carriage and
carry a red flag during the day or a re lantern at night. All these factors
kept the steam carriages from becoming very popular in England.
In Germany, a few years later, men developed new
ideas about engines. Nikolaus Otto made an engine in 1876 that worked very
much like a modern gasoline engine. In 1885 Gottlieb Daimler successfully
mounted a small model of this engine on a bicycle. This engine burned kerosene.
In that same year another German, Karl Benz, built a three-wheel car that
was driven by a gasoline engine. The modern car grew out of many of these
older ideas.
The first gasoline car in the United States was
built in 1892 by Charles and Franklin Duryea of Springfield, Mass. It was
a buggy with a two-cylinder engine fastened to the back axle. The Duryeas
were not satisfied with this car, however, and the next year they made
a better one. Very soon afterward Elwood Haynes, R. E. Olds, Henry Ford,
and others had built cars.
In the early days of automobiles, car builders tried
mostly to build a car that would work. By 1912, builders could make cars
that would run fairly well. They now began to look for different ways to
improve their cars.
The job of making cars better has been going on
for many years. Many changes have been made over the years. Most of the
old ideas are still being used, however, in a changed form.
Several thousand parts have to work together to
keep a modern automobile running properly. The picture at the bottom of
the page shows some of these parts.
A fuel pump brings gasoline from the gas tank and
pumps it into the carburetor. The carburetor is a mixer that mixes air
and gasoline together into a fine mist. The air comes into the carburetor
through a filter, which strains out dust and dirt. About 2,000 gallons
of air are mixed with each gallon of gasoline.
The air and gasoline mist is sent to the cylinders
of the engine. These cylinders are like big tubes closed off at the top.
The air-gasoline mist gets into the cylinder through a valve, which works
like a one-way trapdoor at the top of the cylinder.
In the lower part of each cylinder is a plunger,
called a piston, which moves up and down. The piston moves up and compress
the air-gas mixture. At just the right moment, a hot, electric spark jumps
across the prongs of the spark plug near the top of the cylinder. This
spark makes the air-gas mixture explode. The explosion forces the piston
down very hard. The bottom of the piston of each cylinder is connected
to a shaft called a "crankshaft." When the cylinder pistons are forced
down, one after the other, they make the crankshaft go around. The turning
of this shaft is what makes the wheels go around.
The turning force created by the explosions in the
engine is sent to the wheels through the transmission. There are several
gears in the transmission. "Low gear," which is the most powerful gear,
is used for the difficult job of getting the car started. "Second gear"
is used for picking up more speed, and "high gear" is used for regular
driving.
In many cars, the driver shifts from one gear to
another by moving a lever near the steering wheel. In other cars, the work
of shifting from one gear to another is done automatically.
A long shaft carries the turning motion from the
transmission back to another set of gears called the "differential." A
separate shaft goes from the differential to each of the two rear wheels.
The differential makes it possible for one of the rear wheels to go faster
than the other one when the car is going around a corner.
In most cars, only the rear wheels are made to turn
by the engine. The front wheels, connected to the steering wheel, are used
to guide the car.
The explosions that take place in the engine create
a great deal of heat. This heat would ruin the engine if something weren't
done about it. Water is pumped around the engine to keep it cool. The water
is then sent to the radiator, which is mounted in front of the engine.
The big fan at the front of the engine sucks air past the radiator to cool
the water.
While the engine is running, oil is also being constantly
pumped through it. The oil goes to the moving parts to keep them from wearing
out.
Brakes are just as important to an automobile as
an engine is. If cars could not be stopped easily, they would be too dangerous
to ride in.
The brakes are large, rather flat steel cans. Each
wheel fits on one of these cans. A garageman calls these cans the "brake
drums." They go around as the wheels turn. Inside each drum are bands of
a special material, mainly asbestos. When the driver "puts on the brake,"
these bands push against the inside rim of the brake drum and make the
wheel slow down and stop. Hydraulic lines, which are thin pipes filled
with oil, run between the brake pedal and the brake drums. When the driver
steps on the brake pedal, pressure is put on the oil. The oil then pushes
against the brake bands and forces them against the rims.
The last few years have seen power brakes and power
steering come into wide use. In these improvements, electric motors help
the driver do the work of stopping and turning the car. Air-conditioning
units can now be put in most cars. Even telephones are available for automobiles.
The manufacturing and servicing of automobiles and automobile equipment
has grown to be one of the biggest industries in the United States. (See
ENGINES, HEAT.)
The Golden Book Encyclopedia. Book 2. ARTHUR to
BLOOD. New York, Golden Press, 1960, p. 125-127
ASBESTOS [...] Asbestos makes good
automobile brake bands and clutch linings. These parts have to withstand
great heat. Every year thousands of miles of asbestos bands are woven or
molded for automobiles. [...]
The Golden Book Encyclopedia. Book 2. ARTHUR to
BLOOD. New York, Golden Press, 1960, p. 103
CARBON MONOXIDE When carbon burns
in air that has little oxygen in it, the gas carbon monoxide is formed.
It is formed, for instance, when the engine of an automobile runs in a
closed garage. [...]
The Golden Book Encyclopedia. Book 3. BOATS to CEREALS.
New York, Golden Press, 1960, p. 260
DETROIT Today Detroit, Mich., is
the greatest automobile manufacturing city in the world. And it is the
oldest of the Great Lakes cities. It was a French settlement from 1701
till 1760. Then it was a British settlement until the land on which it
stands became part of the United States in 1796. That land borders the
short, straitlike Detroit River, on which boats must sail in going between
Lakes Huron and Erie. Détroit is the French word for strait.
Many early settlers moving west by way of Lake Erie
landed at Detroit. Some of them stayed there. Others moved on along roads
leading westward from it. The settlement grew steadily. After 1818, when
lake steamers first appeared on Lake Erie, Detroit grew faster than before.
And since automobile manufacturing began there, in 1899, Detroit has grown
very fast. It has become one of the very few American cities having more
than 1,500,000 people.
In the early days of car making, there were several
lake cities where steel, upholstery, rubber, glass, and other materials
could be brought together at fairly low cost. But Detroit had workers already
skilled in building carriages and motorboats. And one Detroit citizen,
Henry Ford, decided to try making automobiles there. He had great success,
and many automobile factories were built in the city. People going between
the United States and Canada see some of Detroit's factories, boulevards,
and fine buildings. Detroit is the largest city on the boundary between
those countries. International Bridge crosses the Detroit River there.
(See AUTOMOBILES; FORD, HENRY; GREAT LAKES; MICHIGAN.)
The Golden Book Encyclopedia. Book 5. DAGUERREOTYPE
to EPIPHYTE. New York, Golden Press, 1960, p. 415
ENGINES, HEAT [...] An automobile
engine is made up of at least four cylinders. In each cylinder there is
a piston that can move up and down. Each cylinder has an opening that can
let in a mixture of air and fuel. There is also a spark plug, and an opening
through which the burned gas can escape.
Air is needed for burning. The gasoline must change
to a gas and it must be mixed with air before it goes into a cylinder.
The mixing is done in the carburetor. As a gasoline engine runs, four strokes
are repeated in each cylinder over and over again. First the piston moves
down and the mixture of gas and air comes in from the carburetor (stroke
1). The piston then moves up (stroke 2). It squeezes the mixture into a
much smaller space. A spark then jumps across the gap in the spark plug
and makes the gas explode. The explosion pushes the piston down (stroke
3). Then the piston moves up again, pushing out the waste gases (stroke
4). A rod from the piston is fastened to a crankshaft. The turning of the
crankshaft is what makes the drive wheels of the car turn.
A car with only one cylinder would jump along like
a jack rabbit. For only one of the four strokes of the piston is a power
stroke--stroke 3. In a car engine the power stroke comes in one cylinder
after another. Most automobile engines have either six or eight cylinders.
Gasoline engines have been built with as many as 28 cylinders. But one-cylinder
engines are useful for such work as cutting grass and pumping water on
a farm.
Diesel engines have taken the place of steam engines
in most trains and ships. They have taken the place of gasoline engines
in many trucks. Diesel engines are much like gasoline engines, but they
are simpler. And the fuel oil they use is cheaper than gasoline.
A diesel engine has cylinders just as a gasoline
engine has. But it does not have spark plugs or a carburetor. Air comes
into the cylinder as the piston moves down. The piston moves up and squeezes
the air into a small space. Compressing the air makes it very hot. Then
a powerful pump squirts a little fuel oil into the cylinder. The air is
so hot that the oil explodes and forces the piston down. The piston then
moves up and forces out the waste gases.
A diesel engine is big and heavy. The walls of the
cylinders must be very strong. For this reason, ordinary automobiles do
not have diesel engines. [...]
The Golden Book Encyclopedia. Book 5. DAGUERREOTYPE
to EPIPHYTE. New York, Golden Press, 1960, p. 467-468
FORD, HENRY (1863-1947) The United
States is a great industrial nation. Many Americans have made huge fortunes
in industry. Henry Ford built up one of the largest fortunes ever made
in this country. He made it by manufacturing automobiles.
Henry Ford was born on a farm near Dearborn, Mich.
Even as a young boy he was much interested in machinery. Instead of playing
outdoors he would sit at a workbench and mend clocks and watches for the
neighbors. The tools he used in repairing the first watch he worked on
were a shingle nail, some knitting needles, and a pair of tweezers made
out of a corset stay.
Henry Ford's mother died when he was 12. Four years
later he left the farm to work in a machine shop. When he was 21, his father
gave him 40 acres of land, hoping that he would give up his work with machines.
Ford tried farming but his interest in machines was too great. He went
to work for the Detroit Edison Company.
Ford was now much interested in horseless carriages.
He decided to build one himself. Night after night he worked on it. At
last, at two o'clock one rainy night in May 1896, the car was ready to
be tried out. Ford trundled it out and ran it around the block. It worked
well.
Ford later sold his first car for $200 and built
a better one. Soon the sight of Ford riding about in his automobile was
a common one. The mayor of Detroit gave him the first driver's license
ever issued.
Other cars were being manufactured, but they were
all expensive. Ford wanted to build a car that was cheap enough for most
families to own. It was hard for him to find anyone willing to put money
into the company he had in mind. But by building two racing cars he succeeded
in getting people interested in his company. One of the racing cars was
the "999." It won every race it entered. At last, in 1903, the Ford Motor
Company was formed.
Ford's regular cars soon were popular. They were
very dependable. Roads too rough and muddy for other cars did not stop
them. Ford's famous "Model T" was said to be "as frisky as a jack rabbit
and more durable than a mule." In the beginning doctors and farmers were
the best customers. But others followed.
Money came pouring in. As Fords were made by the
hundreds, by the thousands and then by the millions, money came in by the
hundreds and the thousands and the millions of dollars. Ford made a fortune
for many others besides himself. One woman who put only $100 in the Ford
Motor Company in the beginning sold her share later for $260,000.
Ford could make good cars cheaply partly because
he had in his factory an assembly line. The cars being built were moved
slowly past one worker after another. Each worker had just one tool and
did just one bit of work. The cars rolled off the assembly line ready to
be sold.
Many famous men were friends of Ford. Among them
were Thomas Edison, John Burroughs, and Harvey Firestone. Among them also
were several presidents.
Some of his great fortune Ford spent in interesting
ways. Near his old Dearborn home he built Greenfield Village. In it there
are reproductions of many buildings famous in American history. In Massachusetts
he rebuilt the Wayside Inn, which Longfellow made famous. During World
War I he went on a "peace ship" to Europe hoping he could bring about an
end to the war. (See AUTOMOBILES; INDUSTRIES.)
The Golden Book Encyclopedia. Book 6. EROSION to
GEYSERS. New York, Golden Press, 1960, p. 540-541
HEAT [...] Now we know that heat is
not a material. It does not take up any space. It does not weight anything.
It is a form of energy instead. Saying that heat is a form of energy means
that it can be used to do work. When we see an automobile speeding down
a road, we can be sure that it is being driven by the heat of burning gasoline.
[...]
The Golden Book Encyclopedia. Book 7. GHOSTS to
HOUSE PLANTS. New York, Golden Press, 1960, p. 633
MICHIGAN [...] Many towns in southeastern
Michigan manufactured carriages and motorboats. In the early 1900's these
two industries helped to start the biggest boom in Michigan, the auto industry.
The first automobiles were made in carriage shops and were provided with
gas engines much like those used in motorboats. Today Detroit and other
former carriage-making cities near by in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio form
the world's greatest auto-manufacturing district. Michigan ranks first
in automobile production and is one of the five top-ranking manufacturing
states. [...]
The Golden Book Encyclopedia. Book 10. MATHEMATICS
to NATURAL GAS. New York, Golden Press, 1960, p. 884
SPEED [...] But the fastest living
things are slow compared with some of the machines men have built. Automobiles
have gone far faster than animals can travel, and airplanes have gone faster
still. For many years airplane builders tried to make an airplane that
would travel as fast as sound--about 750 miles an hour. At last they succeeded.
The fastest jet planes can travel much faster than sound. We talk about
automobiles that go like a bullet, but no automobile really goes as fast.
But some airplanes do. [...]
The Golden Book Encyclopedia. Book 14. SILK to TEXTILES.
New York, Golden Press, 1960, p. 1291
TRANSPORTATION [...] The
two most important steps in the story of transportation on land were the
taming of such animals as the horse, donkey, llama, and camel and the invention
of the wheel. If these two steps had never been taken, we would still have
no better means of transportation on land than walking and carrying our
loads. Today machines are taking the place of tamed animals in many parts
of the world. Our roads are crowded with trucks and buses and passenger
cars. Thousands of trains run on many thousands of miles of railroad track.
Bicycles and motorcycles help, too. All these vehicles have wheels. [...]
The Golden Book Encyclopedia. Book 15. THAILAND
to VOLCANOS. New York, Golden Press, 1960, p. 1366
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