What is a car?

The definition of automobile

According to the authoritative statement of Ci Hai: "The car is a trackless vehicle that can drive by itself, mainly used for transportation. Originally called "automatic car", because it is equipped with a gasoline engine, it is called automobile for short. "Modern Chinese Dictionary" explains that "an automobile is a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine, which mainly travels on roads or highways, and usually has four or more rubber tires. Used to transport people or goods. "But this definition of a car is not rigorous. Motorcycles are also self-driving, trackless and use gasoline engines; Second, tractors also use internal combustion engines, which are trackless and have four or more wheels; Third, in the past, steam locomotives used external combustion engines; Fourth, today's cars can also use natural gas, gas, methanol and other fuels, not to mention solar cars, electric cars and so on. Therefore, there are some limitations in the current explanation of automobile, so it is necessary to explore it to reflect the characteristics of automobile scientifically.

We believe that the following factors must be considered when defining a car: First, the emergence and development of a car. The emergence and development of automobiles have experienced more than 200 years of history. Cars in different periods have different structural characteristics, and the types and uses of cars are changing with each passing day. Second, based on the original intention of the car. The automobile originated in the west, and should be defined according to the original intention of the western language and the automobile in the modern sense. The English word "Automobile" consists of "Auto" and "Mobif? Will it move? " This is a "car? Car? " The origin of, which means that they can move, that is, automatic cars; Third, cars are different from other similar machines. In the definition of automobile, all features of similar machinery should not be completely covered.

Let's analyze this problem from the appearance and development of steam locomotives.

A car driven by a steam engine.

Since ancient times, people have been using human and animal power as the power source of vehicles, and later developed to use natural forces to manufacture wind turbines. With the development of machinery industry, some people have made pulley cars and clockwork cars. However, these vehicles are not recognized by the world because of their lack of use value.

/kloc-in the middle of the 8th century, the appearance of Watt steam engine became the fuse of the first industrial revolution in Europe, which laid the foundation for the birth of steam locomotive. 1769, N·JCUGNOT, a French engineer and army artillery captain, made the world's first front tricycle powered by a steam engine (title map). At that time, the main purpose of making this kind of car was to tow artillery. The car body is made of wood and supported by three huge wheels. The front wheel diameter is1.28m, and the rear wheel diameter is1.5m. There is a pear-shaped boiler at the front and two cylinders with the volume of 1 1 gallon behind the boiler. The steam generated by the boiler is sent to two cylinders to drive two pistons to move. The force generated by the piston movement is transmitted to the front wheel through a simple crankshaft, and the front wheel drives the whole vehicle to run. Although the car looks heavy, it is poorly made and inefficient. But it uses mechanical power to realize automatic driving, that is, "automation" in the modern sense, which can be said to be a historic leap. Taking this as a starting point, by the end of 18, European countries and the United States have successively produced steam locomotives with more extensive uses, such as carrying materials and transporting personnel, and the structure of the car body has been greatly improved. By the middle of19th century, the steam locomotive was in its heyday (this article refers to the highway steam locomotive). Therefore, steam locomotives play an important role in the history of human transportation. Compared with modern cars, steam locomotives are self-driven, independent of tracks and stringing, equipped with wheels, and can run on roads. The difference is that it is powered by an external internal combustion engine. However, both external combustion and internal combustion belong to the category of engines, but in different forms. It can be seen that from the perspective of power source, no matter what fuel is used, as long as it is driven by itself, it already has the basic conditions for a car. Therefore, a steam locomotive can be called an automobile.

Second, it is powered by an internal combustion engine.

automobile

1885, German engineer karl benz made the world's first modern car "Mercedes-Benz I" (Figure 2), which is fueled by gasoline and powered by internal combustion engine, and obtained the patent right. The car is equipped with three wheels, solid rubber tires, a small wheel in front and two big wheels in the back; A single-cylinder four-stroke gasoline engine is installed between two rear wheels; The power generated by the engine is transmitted to the rear axle with differential through the gear and chain mechanism, and the driving direction is controlled by the joystick. In order to improve the comfort of passengers, a leaf spring suspension is installed between the frame and the axle, which makes it more characteristic of modern cars.

Taking the internal combustion engine as the driving force can make the car body light, with high degree of automation and labor-saving operation. At the same time, the automobile industry has been sublimated in technology and concept. The word "car" is a foreign word. Is it called "Automobile"? There is no meaning of internal combustion engine, external combustion engine and what fuel to use, let alone gasoline as fuel. Its original meaning is "automatic driving". Therefore, the definition of a car, as mentioned above, is inevitably one-sided.

Third, different fuels and

Cars with different uses coexist.

During the period of 1898, Frenchman Daisel exhibited his diesel internal combustion engine for the first time at the Munich exhibition, challenging the dominant position of gasoline vehicles. In the same year, American Aldorf Bush successfully built the world's first diesel vehicle. The appearance of diesel vehicles broadens the way for people to develop automobile fuel. With the development of automobile manufacturing and the progress of science and technology, scientists have developed automobiles powered by natural gas, gas and methanol, as well as electric energy and solar energy. The successful development of these vehicles powered by different fuels and different forms of energy not only broke the conceptual framework of automobiles powered by gasoline, but also broke the view that automobiles powered by "internal combustion engines". With the development and utilization of new energy, the automobile family has been growing and used more and more widely, and a variety of power machinery has been derived, which has made the automobile form a beautiful scene in people's minds. Such as sprinklers, fire engines, engineering vehicles, large flat-bed transport vehicles, snow sweepers, dump trucks and vehicles undertaking various military tasks (Figure 3). Although these cars are varied, colorful and have different uses, they are all derived from the instinct of transportation. According to the definition of western "cars" when they first appeared, they should all belong to the category of "automatic cars".

Motorcycle is a transliteration of English motorcycle. Is the motor an engine and the cycle a bicycle? Jiangsu Children Publishing House (1999). There are two kinds of three-wheeled motorcycles, one is a side three-wheeled motorcycle with a side bucket with wheels added to a high-powered two-wheeled motorcycle; The other is a three-wheeled motorcycle, with one wheel in the front and two wheels in the rear. This shows that motorcycles are made by adding engines to the body of bicycles or similar bicycles. Its frame is quite different from that of a car. Tricycle is developed from two-wheeled motorcycle. Although it belongs to the category of "automatic car", it is not a "car".

Tractor is a kind of agricultural machinery, and its use is separated with the development of automobile industry. Before 1970s, tractors were everywhere on the roads in cities and villages. People regarded them as important means of transportation and agricultural machinery, which was more common in China. It can be seen from the use that tractors are not cars. However, compared with cars, tractors have obvious differences in overall structure. The body of a car is inseparable. Except for a few models, such as large flat-bed transport vehicles, the cab and carriage of other vehicles are either integrated or fixed on a frame. Tractor body? Compared to cars? Is it a two-half type with a flexible connection in the middle, so the cab and carriage can't be fixed as a whole, and the driving wheel is large and the driven wheel is small? The front of the car? . Therefore, tractors also belong to the category of "automatic cars", but they are not "cars".

To sum up, cars belong to a developing family in the category of "automatic transmission cars", and cars in different periods have different technical performance and structural characteristics. Automobile is a wheeled vehicle driven by its own power, independent of track and stringing, with four or more wheels, and the cab and carriage are integrated or fixed on the same frame, which can run on the road, as well as trackless automatic vehicles with other special uses derived from it.

It is not easy to give an accurate definition of a car, but it must be admitted that a car is a public thing and belongs to the whole world. It is the responsibility of all autobots to give it a veritable explanation.