Ever wonder who invented the first car, or what it looked like, or how differently it ran back in the 1800s? Although it is still up for debate as to who built the very first car, the majority of credit is given to a man named Karl Benz for inventing the first car that runs on gasoline. The car was discovered by society when Karl Benz’s wife Bertha Benz took the car on a drive without Benz’s knowledge, she and her children were able to travel 180 kilometers.
The first car however was not very fast, it had only one cylinder and could only go 10 miles per hour. A cylinder in a car is where the fuel burns and releases and is used to make a car move. According to Lauren Cox, Karl Benz had many patents including one for his gasoline-powered car. He also eventually created his own car company with Gottlieb Daimler called the Daimler group.
This company produced the mercedes Benz. Karl Benz patented his “Vehicle powered by a gas engine” on January 29th 1886. The invention of the car is essential today and in 1885 for easy transportation and without its speed to get from place to place our world would look so different.
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Cars run off of petrol because it has hydrocarbon in it which can be used for fuel because it is an essential element in fires or combustion. This petrol burns inside the cylinders. The cylinders allow for the fuel being burnt to open and close like a bike pump. Cylinder has two valves that help the fuel get to the right place, the first is the inlet valve which allows fuel to enter the cylinder. The second is the outlet valve which lets the exhaust gasses escape.
At the top of the cylinder is what’s called a sparking plug that sets a controlled fire with the fuel. At the bottom of the cylinder is a crankshaft which helps turn the car. According to “How do Car Engines Work?” a car runs by “a machine that releases the energy locked in a fuel like gasoline (petrol) or diesel and turns it into mechanical energy in moving wheels and gears. When the wheels power the car, the mechanical energy becomes kinetic energy.” The kinetic energy from the car is gained from the propelling movement of the car.
Before the car was invented it required a ton of dependency on others. For example to get from place to place you would either need to walk, take a train, or ride a carriage, which for most was a luxury. Like many things today, the car was a long time coming invention like flying cars or habitation on mars. According to Lauren Cox, some things that may have propelled to Karl Benz’s invention of his “motorwagen” include: Da Vinci made a sketch of chariots that were not run by horses, China sold chariots that were propelled by the wind in 1600’s, and Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot made a self propelled vehicle with a steam engine.
Other cars that ran on electricity and steam, but the real og (original) was the gas powered car from Karl Benz. Cars were able to gain popularity because of how practical they are and today most people could not imagine their lives without cars.
According to the history.com staff, “it has taken an estimated 100,000 patents lead to cars as we know them.” The invention of the car has made a huge impact in life today. Without cars, we would have no roads or freeways. This vehicle has also come a long way since 1885. There are so many things that a car has today that the first car did not, and many of them we do not think about like cup holders, seat warmers, visors, airbags, seatbelts, glove compartments, headrests, mirrors, cameras, global positioning system (GPS), air conditioning, heat, headlights, interior lights, doors, sunroofs, three row seating, car horns, radios, and so much more.
Speed also increased rapidly once car manufacturers learned that the cylinders in a car were the key component. Today, an average car has four to six cylinders. A car in 1885 had only one cylinder, looked like a carriage, had a steering wheel that looks like a game controller, all the parts were placed throughout the car, and had none of the functions listed above. The car still keeps improving and it is hard to tell what the future holds with cars. Thanks to Karl Benz and others society can go from point a to point b in a matter of minutes with no hassle.
