The order of invention: ship (Tang Dynasty, China), bicycle (Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty), train (1840), automobile (1885), airplane (1903)
The world's first steam train that actually ran on rails was designed by Cornish engineer Charlie Trevithick. Its train has four tires and was tested on February 22, 1840. When empty, the speed is 20 kilometers per hour, and when loaded, it reaches 8 kilometers per hour (equivalent to the speed of a person walking quickly). Unfortunately, the weight of the train crushed the tracks.
In 1903, the aircraft designed and manufactured by the Wright brothers in the United States successfully flew. This was the first time in the world that a heavier-than-air aircraft was powered and controllable. In World War I, aircraft were used in combat. At that time, the speed of the aircraft reached 180 to 220 kilometers per hour, the ceiling was 6,000 to 7,000 meters, the range was 400 to 450 kilometers, and the bomber load was 1,000 to 2,000 kilograms. In World War II, the speed of aircraft reached 750 kilometers/hour, and the bomb load of bombers could reach about 10 tons.
Li Gao invented the "paddle wheel" in the Tang Dynasty of my country. He installed a paddle wheel with blades on the side or stern of the ship, and manually stepped on the paddle wheel shaft to cause the paddles on the wheel to move water and push the hull forward. Because the lower half of the paddle wheel of this kind of boat is immersed in the water and the upper half is exposed out of the water, it is called a "paddle steamer" or "steamboat" to distinguish it from manually paddled wooden boats and wind-driven sailboats.
The first person to build a steamship was the French inventor Geoffrey. In 1769, he built the world's first steamship "Piroscafe", which was started by a steam engine. Later, the Britishman Xue Mington also built a steamship in 1802. Unfortunately, none of them have been put into practical use.
It was not until September 1807, when the steamship "Clermont" designed and built by the American Fulton, successfully made its trial voyage that the steamship began to truly become the protagonist of the water stage. "Clermont" has a total length of 45.72 meters, a width of 9.14 meters, a displacement of 100 tons, and a ship speed of 6.4 kilometers per hour.
There are many theories about the invention of the bicycle.
① my country is the first country in the world to invent bicycles. The ancestor of the bicycle is the unicycle in my country more than 500 BC. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty (1662-1722), Huangluzhuang invented the bicycle. Volume 11 of "Unofficial History of the Qing Dynasty" contains: "A two-wheeled cart made by Huangluzhuang is more than three feet long and can seat one person. It does not need to be pushed or pulled, and can move on its own. When traveling, use the hand to turn the axis and turn it around. Traveling as before, staying and moving for eighty miles. "This is the earliest bicycle in the world.
②The bicycle was invented by Western Europeans. In 1790 AD, the Frenchman Sifulak developed a wooden bicycle without handlebars, pedals, or chains. The shape of the car is like a wooden horse, with two wheels nailed to its feet, and the two wheels are fixed in a line. Since the bicycle had no driving device or steering device and the seat was low, Sifulak rode on the bicycle by himself, put his feet on the ground, and pushed backwards hard to make the bicycle move forward in a straight line. In 1817, Baron von Drais of Germany invented a handlebar that could move freely, making it easier to change his bicycle. In 1818, Delais applied for a patent in England. In 1839, K. Macmillan, a British worker, pioneered a pedal bicycle that used a crankshaft mechanism to drive the rear wheel, allowing people to lift their feet off the ground while riding a bicycle. One day in 1861, Parisian carriage and stroller manufacturers Michaud and his sons were repairing a Delais-style bicycle. After repairing it, when they tried it on a ramp, they found that it was difficult to put their feet on the bicycle, so they improved it. A pedal crankshaft was installed on the front wheel, thus creating the Michaud bicycle, which soon began to be mass-produced. Around 1870, France's Ma Zhi made another bicycle with a large driving wheel at the front and a small driven wheel at the back. This kind of bicycle had better operating results. After 1890, the British Humber Company produced a chain-driven, diamond-shaped bicycle. This form of bicycle is still in use today.
③The bicycle was invented by the Russians. One day in September 1801, the Russian serf Artamonov rode a wooden bicycle he made and traveled 2,500 kilometers to Moscow to present a gift to Tsar Alexander I. The bicycles made by Artamonov are similar to those made by the Frenchman Sifulak.
When Alexander I saw the bicycle made by Artamonov, he immediately ordered that his slave status be cancelled.
In 1879, German engineer Kart Benz successfully tested a two-stroke experimental engine for the first time. In October 1883, he founded the "Benz Company and Rhine Gas Engine Factory". In 1885, he made the first Benz patented motor vehicle in Mannheim, which was a three-wheeled vehicle and used a two-stroke engine. With a single-cylinder 0.9-horsepower gasoline engine, this car has some basic features of modern cars, such as spark ignition, water-cooling cycle, steel tube frame, leaf spring suspension, rear-wheel drive, front-wheel steering and brake handle.