The process of inventing the steam engine, as is often the case in technology, stretched out for almost a century, so the choice of the date for this event is rather arbitrary. However, no one denies that the breakthrough that led to the technological revolution was carried out by the Scotsman James Watt.
People thought about using steam as a working medium even in ancient times. However, only at the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries. managed to find a way to do useful work with steam. One of the first attempts to put steam at the service of man was made in England in 1698: the machine of the inventor Savery was designed to drain mines and pump water. True, the invention of Savery was not yet an engine in the full sense of the word, since, apart from several valves that were manually opened and closed, there were no moving parts in it. Savery's machine worked as follows: first, a sealed tank was filled with steam, then the outer surface of the tank was cooled with cold water, which condensed the steam, and a partial vacuum was created in the tank. After that, water - for example, from the bottom of the mine - was sucked into the tank through the intake pipe and, after the next portion of steam was injected, was thrown out.
The first steam engine with a piston was built by the Frenchman Denis Papin in 1698. Water was heated inside a vertical cylinder with a piston, and the resulting steam pushed the piston upwards. When the steam cooled and condensed, the piston was pushed down by atmospheric pressure. Through a system of blocks, Papen's steam engine could drive various mechanisms, such as pumps.
A more perfect machine was built in 1712 by the English blacksmith Thomas Newcomen. As in the Papen machine, the piston moved in a vertical cylinder. Steam from the boiler entered the base of the cylinder and lifted the piston up. When cold water was injected into the cylinder, the vapor condensed, a vacuum was formed in the cylinder, and the piston sank down under the influence of atmospheric pressure. This reverse removed water from the cylinder and, by means of a chain connected to a rocker, moving like a swing, raised the pump rod. When the piston was at the lowest point of its stroke, steam entered the cylinder again, and with the help of a counterweight attached to the pump rod or on the rocker arm, the piston was raised to its original position. After that, the cycle was repeated.
The Newcomen machine has been widely used in Europe for over 50 years. In the 1740s, a machine with a cylinder 2.74 m long and 76 cm in diameter did the work in one day, which a team of 25 people and 10 horses, working in shifts, did in a week. And yet, its efficiency was extremely low.
The industrial revolution manifested itself most vividly in England, primarily in the textile industry. The mismatch between the supply of fabrics and the rapidly increasing demand has attracted the best design minds to the development of spinning and weaving machines. The names of Cartwright, Kay, Crompton, Hargreaves have forever entered the history of English technology. But the spinning and weaving machines they created needed a qualitatively new one, universal engine, which would continuously and evenly (this is what a water wheel could not provide) would drive the machines in a unidirectional rotational movement. It was here that the talent of the famous engineer, the "wizard from Greenock" James Watt, appeared in all its brilliance.
Watt was born in the Scottish town of Greenock in the family of a shipbuilder. While working as an apprentice in workshops in Glasgow, in the first two years, James acquired the qualifications of an engraver, a master in the manufacture of mathematical, geodetic, optical instruments, and various navigational instruments. On the advice of his uncle, a professor, James entered the local university as a mechanic. It was here that Watt began working on steam engines.
James Watt tried to improve Newcomen's steam-atmospheric engine, which, in general, was only suitable for pumping water. It was clear to him that the main drawback of the Newcomen machine was the alternating heating and cooling of the cylinder. In 1765, Watt came to the idea that a cylinder could be permanently hot if the steam was drained into a separate tank through a pipeline with a valve prior to condensation. In addition, Watt made several more improvements that finally turned the steam-atmospheric engine into a steam one. For example, he invented a hinge mechanism - "Watt's parallelogram" (so called because some of the links - levers that make up it form a parallelogram), which converted the reciprocating movement of the piston into the rotational movement of the main shaft. Now the looms could run continuously.
In 1776, Watt's car was tested. Its efficiency turned out to be twice that of the Newcomen machine. In 1782, Watt built the first universal double-acting steam engine. Steam entered the cylinder alternately from one side of the piston, then from the other. Therefore, the piston made both a working and a reverse stroke with the help of steam, which was not in previous machines. Since the piston rod was pulling and pushing in a double-acting steam engine, the old chain-and-rocker drive system, which only reacted to pull, had to be redesigned. Watt developed a system tied rods and used a planetary gear mechanism to convert the reciprocating motion of the piston rod into rotary motion, using a heavy flywheel, a centrifugal speed regulator, a disc valve and a pressure gauge to measure vapor pressure. Watt's patented "rotary steam engine" was first widely used in spinning and weaving mills, and later in other industrial enterprises. Watt's engine was suitable for any machine, and the inventors of self-propelled mechanisms were not slow to take advantage of this.
Watt's steam engine was truly the invention of the century, and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. But the inventor didn't stop there. Neighbors more than once watched in amazement as Watt chased horses through the meadow, pulling specially selected weights. This is how the unit of power appeared - Horsepower, which subsequently received universal recognition.
Unfortunately, financial difficulties forced Watt, already in adulthood, to conduct geodetic surveys, work on the construction of canals, build ports and marinas, and finally go to an economically enslaving alliance with the entrepreneur John Rebeck, who soon suffered a complete financial collapse.
Steam engines were installed and propelled most steam locomotives from the early 1800s to the 1950s. I would like to note that the principle of operation of these engines has always remained unchanged, despite the change in their design and dimensions.
The animated illustration shows how the steam engine works.
To generate steam supplied to the engine, boilers operating both on wood and coal and on liquid fuel were used.
First measure
Steam from the boiler enters the steam chamber, from which it enters the upper (front) part of the cylinder through the steam valve-valve (marked in blue). The pressure created by the steam pushes the piston down towards the BDC. During the movement of the piston from TDC to BDC, the wheel makes a half turn.
Release
At the very end of the piston movement towards BDC, the steam valve is displaced, releasing the remaining steam through the outlet port located below the valve. Residual steam escapes to create the sound characteristic of steam engines.
Second measure
At the same time, displacement of the residual steam valve opens the steam inlet to the bottom (rear) part of the cylinder. The pressure created by the steam in the cylinder forces the piston to move towards TDC. At this time, the wheel makes another half turn.
Release
At the end of the piston movement to TDC, the remaining steam is released through the same outlet window.
The cycle is repeated anew.
The steam engine has a so-called. dead center at the end of each stroke as the valve transitions from expansion stroke to outlet. For this reason, everyone steam engine has two cylinders, which allows you to start the engine from any position.
Steam engine
Manufacturing complexity: ★★★★ ☆Production time: One day
Scrapbook: ████████░░ 80%
In this article, I will show you how to make a DIY steam engine. The engine will be small, single piston with a spool. The power will be enough to rotate the rotor of a small generator and use this engine as an autonomous source of electricity when hiking.
- Telescopic antenna (can be removed from an old TV or radio), the diameter of the thickest tube must be at least 8 mm
- Small tube for piston pair (plumbing store).
- Copper wire with a diameter of about 1.5 mm (can be found in a transformer coil or radio store).
- Bolts, nuts, screws
- Lead (at the fishing store or found in the old car battery). It is needed to mold the flywheel. I found a ready-made flywheel, but this item may come in handy for you.
- Wooden bars.
- Bicycle wheel spokes
- Stand (in my case, made of a 5 mm thick PCB sheet, but plywood is also suitable).
- Wooden blocks (pieces of boards)
- Olive jar
- A tube
- Super glue, cold welding, epoxy (construction market).
- Emery
- Drill
- Soldering iron
- Hacksaw
Steam boiler
A can of olives with a sealed lid will serve as a steam boiler. I also soldered the nut so that water can be poured through it and tightly tightened with a bolt. I also soldered the tube to the lid.
Here is a photo:
Photo of the complete engine
We assemble the engine on a wooden platform, placing each element on a support
Steam engine video
Version 2.0
Cosmetic revision of the engine. The tank now has its own wooden platform and saucer for dry fuel tablets. All parts are painted in beautiful colors. By the way, as a heat source, it is best to use a homemade
How to make a steam engine
Engine diagram
Cylinder and spool tube.
Cut off 3 pieces from the antenna:
? The first piece is 38 mm long and 8 mm in diameter (the cylinder itself).
? The second piece is 30 mm long and 4 mm in diameter.
? The third is 6 mm long and 4 mm in diameter.
Take tube # 2 and make a 4mm hole in the middle of it. Take tube # 3 and glue it perpendicular to tube # 2, after the superglue has dried, we will coat everything with cold welding (for example POXIPOL).
We attach a round iron washer with a hole in the middle to piece No. 3 (diameter is slightly larger than tube No. 1), after drying, we strengthen it with cold welding.
Additionally, we cover all seams with epoxy for better tightness.
How to make a piston with a connecting rod
Take a bolt (1) with a diameter of 7 mm and clamp it in a vice. We begin to wind copper wire (2) on it for about 6 turns. We coat each turn with superglue. We cut off the excess ends of the bolt.
We cover the wire with epoxy. After drying, we adjust the piston with a sandpaper under the cylinder so that it moves freely there, without letting in air.
From a sheet of aluminum we make a strip 4 mm long and 19 mm long. Give it the shape of the letter P (3).
Drill holes (4) 2 mm in diameter at both ends so that a piece of knitting needle can be inserted. The sides of the U-shaped part should be 7x5x7 mm. We glue it to the piston with a side that is 5 mm.
The connecting rod (5) is made from a bicycle spoke. To both ends of the knitting needles we glue on two small pieces of tubes (6) from the antenna with a diameter and length of 3 mm. The distance between the centers of the connecting rod is 50 mm. Next, we insert the connecting rod with one end into the U-shaped part and hingely fix it with a knitting needle.
We glue the needle from both ends so that it does not fall out.
Triangle connecting rod
The connecting rod of the triangle is made in a similar way, only on one side there will be a piece of the spoke, and on the other there will be a tube. The length of the connecting rod is 75 mm.
Triangle and spool
Cut out a triangle from a sheet of metal and drill 3 holes in it.
Spool. The spool piston is 3.5 mm long and should move freely in the spool tube. The length of the stem depends on the dimensions of your flywheel.
The piston rod crank should be 8 mm and the spool crank 4 mm.
I only live on coal and water and still have enough energy to go 100 mph! This is exactly what a steam locomotive can do. Although these giant mechanical dinosaurs are now extinct on most of the world's railways, steam technology lives on in the hearts of people, and locomotives like this still serve as tourist attractions on many historic railways.
The first modern steam engines were invented in England in the early 18th century and marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
Today we return to steam energy again. Due to the design of the combustion process, the steam engine produces less pollution than the engine. internal combustion... In this video post, see how it works.
What was the power of the old steam engine?
It takes energy to do absolutely anything you can think of: go skateboarding, fly an airplane, go to shops, or drive down the street. Most of the energy we use for transportation today comes from oil, but this was not always the case. Until the early 20th century, coal was the world's favorite fuel, and it powered everything from trains and ships to the ill-fated steam planes invented by the American scientist Samuel P. Langley, an early rival of the Wright brothers. What's so special about coal? There is a lot of it inside the Earth, so it was relatively inexpensive and widely available.
Coal is an organic chemical, which means that it is based on the element carbon. Coal is formed over millions of years when the remains of dead plants are buried under rocks, compressed under pressure, and boiled under the influence of the Earth's internal heat. This is why it is called fossil fuels. Lumps of coal are really lumps of energy. The carbon inside them is bonded to hydrogen and oxygen atoms in compounds called chemical bonds. When we burn coal on fire, bonds break down and energy is released in the form of heat.
Coal contains about half the energy per kilogram of cleaner fossil fuels like gasoline, diesel and kerosene - and this is one of the reasons steam engines have to burn so much.
Are the steam engines ready for an epic comeback?
Once upon a time, the steam engine dominated - first in trains and heavy tractors, as you know, but ultimately in cars as well. It's hard to understand today, but at the turn of the 20th century, more than half of the cars in the United States were powered by steam. The steam engine was so refined that in 1906 a steam engine called the Stanley Rocket even held a record for the speed on earth - a heady speed of 127 miles per hour!
Now, you might think that the steam engine was a success only because internal combustion engines (ICEs) did not exist yet, but in fact steam engines and ICE cars were developed at the same time. Since the engineers already had 100 years of experience with steam engines, the steam engine had a pretty big start. While manual crankshafts were wringing the hands of hapless operators, by 1900 steam engines were already fully automated - and without a clutch or gearbox (steam provides constant pressure, as opposed to the stroke of an internal combustion engine), very easy to operate. The only caveat is that you had to wait a few minutes for the boiler to heat up.
However, in a few short years, Henry Ford will come and change everything. Although the steam engine was technically superior to the internal combustion engine, it could not match the price of production Fords. Steam car manufacturers tried to shift gears and market their cars as premium, luxury products, but by 1918 the Ford Model T was six times cheaper than the Steanley Steamer (the most popular steam engine at the time). With the advent of the electric starter motor in 1912 and the constant increase in the efficiency of the internal combustion engine, very little time passed until the steam engine disappeared from our roads.
Under pressure
For the past 90 years, steam engines have remained on the brink of extinction, and giant beasts have rolled out for shows. vintage cars but not much. Quietly, however, in the background, research has been quietly moving forward - in part because of our dependence on steam turbines to generate electricity, and also because some people believe that steam engines can actually outperform internal combustion engines.
ICEs have inherent disadvantages: they require fossil fuels, they generate a lot of pollution, and they are noisy. Steam engines, on the other hand, are very quiet, very clean, and can use almost any fuel. Steam engines, thanks to constant pressure, do not require engagement - you get maximum torque and acceleration instantly, at rest. For city driving, where stopping and starting consumes huge amounts of fossil fuels, the continuous power of steam engines can be very interesting.
Technologies have passed long way and since the 1920s - first of all, we are now material masters... Original steam engines huge, heavy boilers were required to withstand the heat and pressure, and as a result even small steam engines weighed a couple of tons. With modern materials, steam engines can be as light as their cousins. Throw in a modern condenser and some kind of evaporator boiler and you can build a steam engine with decent efficiency and warm-up times in seconds, not minutes.
In recent years, these advances have combined into some exciting developments. In 2009, the British team set a new steam-powered wind speed record of 148 mph, finally breaking the Stanley rocket record that had stood for over 100 years. In the 1990s, Volkswagen's R&D division, Enginion, said it had built a steam engine that was as efficient as an internal combustion engine, but with lower emissions. In recent years, Cyclone Technologies claims that it has developed a steam engine that is twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine. To date, however, no engine has found its way into a commercial vehicle.
Moving forward, it's unlikely that steam engines will ever get off an internal combustion engine, if only because of Big Oil's immense momentum. However, one day when we finally decide to take a serious look at the future of personal transportation, perhaps the quiet, green, gliding grace of steam energy will get a second chance.
Steam engines of our time
Technology.
Innovative energy. NanoFlowcell® is currently the most innovative and most powerful energy storage system for mobile and stationary applications. Unlike conventional batteries, the nanoFlowcell® is powered by liquid electrolytes (bi-ION) that can be stored away from the cell itself. The exhaust of a car with this technology is water vapor.
Like a conventional flow cell, positively and negatively charged electrolytic fluids are stored separately in two tanks and, like a conventional flow cell or fuel cell, are pumped through a converter (real nanoFlowcell) in separate circuits.
Here, the two electrolyte circuits are separated only by a permeable membrane. Ion exchange occurs as soon as solutions of positive and negative electrolytes pass with each other on both sides of the converter membrane. This converts the chemical energy bound to bi-ion into electricity, which is then directly available to consumers of electricity.
Like hydrogen vehicles, the "exhaust" produced by nanoFlowcell EVs is water vapor. But are the water vapor emissions from future electric vehicles environmentally friendly?
Critics of e-mobility are increasingly questioning the environmental compatibility and sustainability of alternative energy sources. For many, car electric drives are a mediocre compromise between zero-emission driving and green technology. Conventional lithium-ion or metal hydride batteries are neither sustainable nor environmentally compatible — not in production, in use, or in recycling, even if advertising suggests pure “e-mobility”.
nanoFlowcell Holdings is also frequently asked about the sustainability and environmental compatibility of nanoFlowcell technology and bi-ionic electrolytes. Both the nanoFlowcell itself and the bi-ION electrolyte solutions required to power it are produced in an environmentally friendly way from environmentally friendly raw materials. During operation, nanoFlowcell technology is completely non-toxic and does not harm health in any way. Bi-ION, which consists of a slightly saline aqueous solution (organic and mineral salts dissolved in water) and actual energy carriers (electrolytes), is also safe for the environment when used and recycled.
How does the nanoFlowcell drive work in an electric vehicle? Similar to a gasoline car, electrolyte solution is consumed in an electric vehicle with nanoflowcell. Inside the nano tap (actual flow cell), one positively and one negatively charged electrolyte solution is pumped through the cell membrane. The reaction - ion exchange - takes place between positively and negatively charged electrolyte solutions. Thus, the chemical energy contained in bi-ions is released as electricity, which is then used to drive electric motors. This happens as long as electrolytes are pumped through the membrane and react. In the case of the QUANTiNO nanoflowcell drive, one electrolyte tank is sufficient for over 1000 kilometers. After emptying, the tank must be replenished.
What “waste” is generated by a nanoflowcell electric vehicle? In a conventional vehicle with an internal combustion engine burning fossil fuels (gasoline or diesel fuel) Hazardous exhaust gases are produced - mainly carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide - the accumulation of which has been identified by many researchers as the cause of climate change. change. However, the only emissions from a nanoFlowcell vehicle while driving are - almost like a hydrogen vehicle - made up almost entirely of water.
After the ion exchange took place in the nanocell, the chemical composition of the bi-ION electrolyte solution remained practically unchanged. It is no longer reactive and thus is considered "spent" as it cannot be recharged. Therefore, for mobile applications of nanoFlowcell technology, such as electric vehicles, the decision was made to microscopically evaporate and release dissolved electrolyte while the vehicle is in motion. Above 80 km / h, the electrolytic waste container is emptied through extremely fine spray nozzles using a generator driven by drive energy. Electrolytes and salts are mechanically filtered beforehand. The release of currently purified water in the form of cold water vapor (micro-fine mist) is fully compatible with the environment. The filter changes by about 10 g.
The advantage of this technical solution is that the vehicle tank is emptied during normal driving and can be easily and quickly refilled without the need for pumping out.
An alternative solution, which is somewhat more complex, is to collect the spent electrolyte solution in a separate tank and send it for recycling. This solution is designed for such stationary nanoFlowcell applications.
However, many critics now suggest that the type of water vapor, which is released during the conversion of hydrogen in fuel cells or as a result of the evaporation of electrolytic liquid in the case of nano-removal, is theoretically a greenhouse gas that could have an impact on climate change. How do these rumors arise?
We look at water vapor emissions in terms of their environmental relevance and ask how much more water vapor can be expected from the widespread use of nanoflowcell vehicles compared to traditional drive technologies, and whether these H 2 O emissions could have negative environmental impacts. Wednesday.
The most important natural greenhouse gases - along with CH 4, O 3 and N 2 O - are water vapor and CO 2. Carbon dioxide and water vapor are incredibly important in maintaining the global climate. The solar radiation that reaches the earth is absorbed and heats the earth, which in turn radiates heat into the atmosphere. However, most of this radiated heat is escaped back into space from the earth's atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and water vapor have the properties of greenhouse gases, forming a "protective layer" that prevents all radiated heat from escaping back into space. In a natural context, this greenhouse effect is critical to our survival on Earth - without carbon dioxide and water vapor, Earth's atmosphere would be hostile to life.
The greenhouse effect only becomes problematic when unpredictable human intervention disrupts the natural cycle. When, in addition to natural greenhouse gases, humans cause higher concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels, it increases the heating of the earth's atmosphere.
Being part of the biosphere, people inevitably affect the environment and, therefore, the climate system, by their very existence. The constant growth of the Earth's population after the Stone Age and the creation of settlements several thousand years ago, associated with the transition from nomadic life to agriculture and livestock raising, has already influenced the climate. Nearly half of the world's original forests and forests have been cleared for agricultural purposes. Forests are - along with the oceans - a major producer of water vapor.
Water vapor is the main absorber of thermal radiation in the atmosphere. Water vapor averages 0.3% by mass of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide - only 0.038%, which means that water vapor accounts for 80% of the mass of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (about 90% by volume) and, taking into account from 36 to 66% Is the most important greenhouse gas for our existence on earth.
Table 3: Atmospheric share of the most important greenhouse gases, as well as absolute and relative share of temperature rise (Zittel)
Exactly 212 years ago, on December 24, 1801, in the small English town of Camborne, mechanic Richard Trevithick showed the public the first car with a steam engine, Dog Carts. Today this event could be safely attributed to the category, albeit remarkable, but insignificant, especially since the steam engine was known earlier, and even used on vehicles (although it would be a stretch to call them cars) ... But here's what is interesting: just now, technological progress has created a situation strikingly reminiscent of the era of the great "battle" of steam and gasoline at the beginning of the 19th century. Only batteries, hydrogen and biofuels will have to fight. Do you want to know how it will end and who will win? I will not prompt. Let me give you a hint: technology has nothing to do with it ...
1. The passion for steam engines has passed, and the time has come for internal combustion engines. For the good of the case, I repeat: in 1801, a four-wheeled carriage rolled along the streets of Camborne, capable of carrying eight passengers with relative comfort and slowness. The car was driven by a single-cylinder steam engine, and the fuel was coal. The creation of steam vehicles was taken up with enthusiasm, and already in the 20s of the XIX century, passenger steam omnibuses transported passengers at a speed of up to 30 km / h, and the average turnaround time reached 2.5-3 thousand km.
Now let's compare this information with others. In the same 1801, the Frenchman Philippe Le Bon received a design patent piston engine internal combustion fueled by lamp gas. It so happened that three years later, Le Bon died, and others had to develop the technical solutions he proposed. Only in 1860, the Belgian engineer Jean Etienne Lenoir assembled a gas engine with ignition from an electric spark and brought its design to the degree of suitability for installation on a vehicle.
So, car steam engines and internal combustion engines are practically the same age. The efficiency of a steam engine of that design was about 10% in those years. The efficiency of the Lenoir engine was only 4%. Only 22 years later, by 1882, August Otto improved it so that the efficiency of the now gasoline engine reached ... as much as 15%.
2. Steam traction is just a brief moment in the history of progress. Beginning in 1801, the history of steam transport lasted nearly 159 years. In 1960 (!), Buses and trucks with steam engines were still being built in the USA. Steam engines have been greatly improved during this time. In 1900 in the United States, 50% of the car park was "steam". Already in those years, competition arose between steam, gasoline and - attention! - electric carriages. After the market success of Ford's Model-T and, it would seem, the defeat of the steam engine, a new surge in the popularity of steam cars fell on the 20s of the last century: the cost of fuel for them (fuel oil, kerosene) was significantly lower than the cost of gasoline.
Until 1927, Stanley produced about 1,000 steam cars a year. In England, steam trucks competed successfully with gasoline trucks until 1933 and lost only because the authorities introduced a tax on heavy freight transport and lower tariffs on imports of liquid petroleum products from the United States.
3. The steam engine is inefficient and uneconomical. Yes, it was like that once. The "classic" steam engine, which released exhaust steam into the atmosphere, has an efficiency of no more than 8%. However, a steam engine with a condenser and a profiled flow path has an efficiency of up to 25–30%. The steam turbine provides 30–42%. Combined-cycle plants, where gas and steam turbines are used "in tandem", have an efficiency of up to 55–65%. The latter circumstance prompted BMW engineers to start working on options for using this scheme in cars. By the way, the efficiency of modern gasoline engines is 34%.
The cost of manufacturing a steam engine at all times was lower than the cost of a carburetor and diesel engines the same power. Liquid fuel consumption in new steam engines operating in a closed cycle on superheated (dry) steam and equipped with modern lubrication systems, high-quality bearings and electronic systems regulation of the duty cycle is only 40% of the previous one.
4. The steam engine starts slowly. And that was once ... Even the production cars of the Stanley firm “made couples” for 10 to 20 minutes. Improvement of the boiler design and introduction of cascade heating mode reduced the readiness time to 40-60 seconds.
5. The steam car is too leisurely. This is not true. The 1906 speed record - 205.44 km / h - belongs to the steam car. In those years, cars on gasoline engines they didn’t know how to drive so fast. In 1985, a steam car drove around at a speed of 234.33 km / h. And in 2009, a group of British engineers designed a steam-turbine "bolide" with a steam drive with a capacity of 360 liters. with., which was able to move with a record average speed in the race - 241.7 km / h.
6. The steam car smokes, it is not aesthetic. Examining the old drawings, which depict the first steam carriages, throwing thick clouds of smoke and fire from their pipes (which, by the way, testifies to the imperfection of the furnaces of the first "steam engines"), you understand where the persistent association of a steam engine and soot came from.
Concerning appearance machines, the point here, of course, depends on the level of the designer. Hardly anyone will say that steam cars Abner Doble (USA) are ugly. On the contrary, they are elegant even in the present day. And we also drove quietly, smoothly and quickly - up to 130 km / h.
Interestingly, modern research in the field of hydrogen fuel for automobile engines has spawned a number of "side branches": hydrogen as a fuel for classic piston steam engines and especially for steam turbine engines ensures absolute environmental friendliness. The "smoke" from such a motor is ... water vapor.
7. The steam engine is capricious. It is not true. He is constructively significant simpler engine internal combustion, which in itself means greater reliability and unpretentiousness. The service life of steam engines is many tens of thousands of hours of continuous operation, which is not typical of other types of engines. However, this is not the end of it. Due to the principles of operation, the steam engine does not lose efficiency when the atmospheric pressure drops. Exactly because of this reason vehicles steam powered are extremely well suited for use in the highlands, on difficult mountain passes.
It is interesting to note one more useful property of a steam engine, which, by the way, is similar to an electric motor. direct current... A decrease in the shaft speed (for example, with an increase in the load) causes an increase in the torque. Due to this property, cars with steam engines fundamentally do not need gearboxes - in themselves, they are very complex and sometimes capricious mechanisms.
