Women invented many important things in human history, such as the dishwasher and chocolate chip cookies. In the history of automobiles, women’s inventions are essential. Maybe we all think that cars, as a kind of precision machinery, are only interested in and invented by boys. But in fact, women play a very important role in the development of automobiles.
1. Turn signals and brake signals
Film actor Florence Lawrence developed important automotive safety features such as mechanical signals and brake signals in 1914. There was a similar device at the time, but Lawrence's invention was truly groundbreaking and different.
When the driver applies the brakes, an electric sign pops up from the rear bumper, signaling a "stop". Likewise, when the vehicle is rotating, a sign on the right or left side will rise to indicate direction. These are our turn signals and brake signals today.
2. Brake pads
Bertha Benz was the first woman to actually travel in a gas-powered vehicle (steam and other vehicles) in 1888. She is the wife of the famous engineer Karl Benz.
In order to prove that her husband’s invention was successful, she took her son on a tricycle to her mother’s home 95 kilometers away. In the middle, she asked shoemakers to put leather on the brakes to improve the car's braking efficiency, which became the first of the world's first brake pads.
3. Wiper
Seventeen years after Mercedes-Benz invented the car, Marie Anderson, an ordinary housewife from Alabama, went to New York in the winter of 1902. One day, there was a lot of sleet and sleet in New York. Due to the sleet, trams and cars were unable to move as they were both invisible.
"What do you do when your car's view is blocked by sleet, snow, rain and dust?" Anderson, deep inside, came up with a brilliant idea while cleaning the yard. "Sweep like a broom" Anderson eventually invented the wiper and received a U.S. patent in November 1903.
4. Kevlar tires
In 1965, American chemist Stephanie Louise Kwolek worked as a researcher at DuPont and decided Make a stronger tire. After research, she combined carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen to develop a tough, fire-resistant fiber called Kevlar.
Kevlar opened the era of chemical fibers to humans who rely on natural materials. It is widely used in tires, body armor, helmets, helicopter floors, boats, aircraft and building materials.
5. Wireless transmission technology
Hedi Ramer is an actress and an inventor, so she is also known as the most beautiful inventor . After learning that civilian passenger ships were being attacked by German submarines during World War II, inventor Hedi Ramer began developing a radio-controlled torpedo.
To guide torpedoes wirelessly, Hedy Lammer proposed a concept in which the carrier and torpedo exchange frequencies by changing them, calling this "frequency hopping." This technology forms the basis of the wireless communications industry and is currently used in GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and mobile phone calls.
Hedi Ramer patented the technology in 1942, but he faced hostility because he was from Austria, so the patent was confiscated.
6. Car heater
It is difficult to imagine driving in a car or airplane without a heater in the cold winter. In 1893, Margaret Wilcox invented a heater that moved hot air from the engine into the vehicle. This allows us to travel around the world without being affected by outside weather.
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.