Gunpowder was invented by ancient alchemists in China in the process of alchemy. Sun Simiao was a great physician in ancient China, who lived in Sui Dynasty and early Tang Dynasty. He participated in hundreds of academic studies on the history of Confucian classics, and was exposed to Taoist classics and Buddhist classics. He is not only a great physician, but also a famous alchemist, calling himself "Sun Zhenren". On the basis of summarizing the experience of previous alchemists, he collected the formulas of alchemists in Heluo area and Guanzhong area, and finally put forward a more effective formula of sulfur burning method. In a word, the invention and spread of gunpowder are inextricably linked with Sun Simiao.
At the beginning of the 20th century, gliders and powerplants were mature, and many pilots began to install powerplants on gliders to study power flight.
1882, Mocaj of Russia built a flat-wing steam plane. From 1886 to 1890, four steam planes were built in Adail. 1893, Maxim in Britain also built a large steam plane. 1896, a steam plane model was built in Langley, USA. However, these planes failed to fly successfully due to poor power or other reasons. Although Russia, France and Britain claim that they made the earliest airplanes, they are not recognized.
The real inventor of the airplane is the Wright brothers in America. The two brothers have been very interested in flying since childhood. They study the flight of birds. They used to pull gliders with ropes and fly them like kites. They built their own internal combustion engines and propellers, and put their own airplane models with propellers and engines in their own "wind tunnels" to simulate flight. In order to test the plane, they also personally wrote to the Meteorological Bureau to find the ideal test site.
1 In September, 903, they pulled their "Flying Man1"plane to Xiaoying Beach on the east coast, making full preparations for the test flight. 65438+February 17, this is an unusual day. My brother Orville Wright and my brother wilbur wright flew the "Flyer 1" respectively, and successfully flew four times, with a total flight time of 97 seconds and a distance of 44 1 m. Although there is only a short time and distance, this is the first time that human beings really fly in a powered plane. At the end of the last flight, wilbur wright said excitedly, "The era of flying has finally arrived." Yes, this is indeed an epoch-making flight.
It is worth mentioning that the invention right of aircraft is still an episode. 190 1 year, the U.S. government invested $50,000 to call Langley for research aircraft. 1903, 70 days before the Wright brothers successfully flew, the "air station" aircraft developed by Langley also made a test flight, but it failed. After the Wright brothers succeeded, Curtis, another American pilot, revised the "air station number" and successfully tested again. So he claimed that the inventor of the first plane was not Wright, but Langley. Because Langley was then the dean of the prestigious Smithsonian Institution in the United States, the Smithsonian Institution abused its power and announced that the "Air Station" plane was the first successful plane. It was not until 1942 that the new president of the Smithsonian Institution corrected the wrong statement in the past and rehabilitated the Wright brothers. At the same time, it was decided to display Wright's "leaflet 1" in the best position of American museums.
Of course, just as any invention is born on the basis of the accumulated experience of predecessors, the invention of aircraft does not appear out of thin air. The reason for the success of the Wright brothers lies in summing up the experience of their predecessors. The experiences of many pilots before the success of Voyager 1 will also leave a glorious page in aviation history.
Karl Benz (1884- 1929) is one of the pioneers of modern automobile industry and is called "the father of automobile".
Ben Ci was born in Germany as a posthumous child on 1844. His father was a train driver, but he died in a car accident 1843 before his birth. From middle school, Ben Ci became interested in natural science and entered the Karlsruhe Comprehensive Science and Technology School on 1860. In this school, he systematically studied courses such as mechanical structure, mechanical principle, engine manufacturing and economic accounting of mechanical manufacturing, which laid a good foundation for his future development. After experiencing life experiences such as apprenticeship, military service, getting married and having children, we founded "Mercedes-Benz Cast Iron Company and Machinery Workshop" on 1872, specializing in the production of building materials. Because the construction industry was depressed at that time, Ben Ci's workshop was in danger of closing down, so he decided to make engines to get high profits to get out of trouble. So, he got the business license to produce Otto four-stroke gas engine. After more than one year's design and trial production, the first single-cylinder gas engine (rotating speed 200 rpm, power about 0.7 kW) was manufactured on1879 65438+February 3 1 day. However, this engine didn't get Mercedes-Benz out of the economic difficulties. He still faced the danger of bankruptcy and had a very hard life. However, poor life has not changed Ben Ci's determination to devote himself to engine research. After years of hard work, he finally developed a single-cylinder gasoline engine and installed it on his tricycle frame. Obtained the world's first "automobile manufacturing patent right" (1886 65438+1October 29th).
1893, Ben Ci successfully developed a "Victor Deya" brand car with performance close to the advanced level. It uses a 3-liter engine patented by Ben Ci, and the steering wheel is installed in the middle of the car. Although the car has advanced performance, few people can afford it because the price is as high as 3875 marks, and it has become a unsalable product of the company. From this point of view, this kind of car that has brought high honor to Mercedes-Benz in technology has not benefited him much in economy. Later, following the advice of businessmen, Ben Ci developed and produced a cheap "bicycle" at 1894 (the price is 2000 marks). This kind of "bicycle" sells well, selling 125 vehicles a year. Because it is the first mass-produced motor vehicle in the world, it has brought high profits to Mercedes-Benz. Later, Mercedes-Benz improved the "Victor Deya" brand car produced in the early stage, and designed the trunk seat as 18, becoming the first bus in the world.
In the process of inventing the automobile, karl benz's courage is admirable: first of all, he is willing to live in poverty and bury himself in his invention work. Secondly, he boldly abandoned the technically mature steam engine and chose the internal combustion engine that he was not optimistic about, which reflected his great change in concept. Thirdly, he can not only develop and produce "high-end cars" that reflect the highest level of automobile technology, but also adjust the product structure in time and organize the production of marketable "ordinary cars", which has won considerable profits for the company, which shows that he has both the basic qualities of engineers and the business talents of entrepreneurs.
Humans have used wheels for about 5000 years, but before 1690, no one connected two wheels to ride. A Frenchman from Germany and West Flach once made a two-wheeled vehicle called Celeriffler. The use method is: sit on the vehicle with your legs apart and roll forward with your feet.
1839, Macmillan invented the mechanical bicycle. The rear wheel of the bicycle is driven by a crank connected to the pedal. With bicycles, people are much faster than walking.
186 1 year, a Frenchman named brunell took his bicycle to Mishod, a carriage manufacturer, to have it repaired. Ernest, Michaud's son, saw the car and suggested that if a crank was installed on the front wheel and it could be pedaled, it would definitely be named as an improvement of this bicycle.
There is also a kind of bicycle called "Velocipide". The pedal rotates once and the wheel rotates once. This kind of bicycle has a big front wheel and is called a "high bicycle". It runs fast, but it is unstable. If you brake, especially when going downhill, the cyclist may be thrown in front of the handlebar and fall several times a day. But people are not afraid. 1884, the brave Mas Stevens rode, pushed and sometimes even carried a tall bicycle named "Ordinary Man" across the United States.
Attempts to make the front wheel of the bicycle smaller to make it safer to ride the bicycle have been going on, but due to the technical level at that time, these attempts have failed.
1885, the British stahly invented the chain-driven bicycle. This kind of bicycle uses a chain to transmit the movement of pedals to the wheels, and the front and rear wheels are the same size. In order to speed up walking, his party, government and army designed the pedal gear to be larger than the rear wheel, so that the rotation speed of the rear wheel is greater than the pedal speed. One of the main advantages of this bicycle is that the five points of the seat, pedals, handlebars and the rotating shafts of the front and rear wheels form a triangular structure with each other. This structure 2 completely conforms to the principle of structural mechanics.
After improvement, the bicycle has become safe and reliable, and the efficiency has been greatly improved. Therefore, bicycles soon became popular in Europe.
1888, Scottish Dunlop invented the pneumatic tire. Before this, bicycles used wooden wheels or solid rubber wheels, which were very heavy. Dunlop was bent on improving it, but he couldn't think of a good way. One day, inspired by watering flowers with rubber hoses in the park, he invented a wheel with an inflatable inner tube, which greatly improved the performance of bicycles and created an era of bicycle popularization.