Automobiles are a type of wheeled vehicle which moves on the road with its own power source. They are used for transportation of people and goods from one place to another. They are also used in industrial applications like crane vehicles at construction sites, road rollers at road construction and fork-lift trucks at warehouses.
Automobile engineering is a branch of engineering which deals with the manufacturing, design and technology of automobiles. It is a very important branch of engineering which has played a vital role in the development of our modern world.
The modern automobile is a complex technical system, composed of thousands of individual parts that work together in several semi-independent systems to achieve a specific function. These include a motor, a transmission, and several other subsystems.
Unlike the human body, which is composed of many different organs and is organized into a complex circulatory system, the automobile is made up of only a few main subsystems. The most important of these are the engine, transmission, and wheels.
In order to produce the torque needed for starting and running, an engine has to be able to deliver a large tractive effort. This is achieved by using gears in the engine to change the speed and torque of the wheels.
These gears are called transmissions and are divided into two categories: fluid couplings and belt drives. The fluid coupling works by transmitting motion from the driving shaft to the driven shaft by using a working fluid (typically water or oil) that is pumped to the shaft. The clutch disengages the driven shaft from the driving shaft when the speed of the driving shaft exceeds that of the driven shaft.
The axle, which receives the power from the engine, is connected to the road wheels through a differential. This difference in the speed of the outer and inner wheel is necessary to produce a sufficient tractive effort to overcome the resistance faced by the automobile while moving.
There are other components that make the automobile run more smoothly and safely. These are called auxiliaries and may not be required in all cars, but they can make the drive more comfortable.
Auxiliaries can include such things as air conditioning, indicators, and brakes. In the past, they were not required in all automobiles, but they are now included as standard features in most cars.
The first automobiles were manufactured in Germany by Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler. Benz patented his first car, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, on 29 January 1886 and sold it in Germany in 1888.
Benz’s automobile was powered by a four-stroke type of internal combustion engine, which he developed. He began to make and sell cars in a factory.
While Benz and Daimler were still developing their automobiles, others began to build automobiles on a larger scale. These were called motorcars and included the Duryea and the Wankel.
By the early 1900s, several small manufacturers began to compete with each other in order to gain market share. The assembly line was a key factor in the mass production of affordable automobiles. These automobiles changed America, and gave many people the freedom to work and play independently.