1855 United States Tycoon

"I remember that horses are not so delicate that they get sick every forty hours? Even the most delicate thoroughbred horses." Hearing the engineer boasting that this engine only breaks down every forty hours, "High Reliability," Rockefeller couldn't help asking.

"Ah, Mr. Rockefeller, that's because no horse has been tested for forty hours of continuous running. If there is, I am sure that no matter what the horse is, including the most valuable thoroughbred and Arabian horses, It definitely doesn’t need to be repaired, but it’s scrapped. Moreover, even if this machine fails, it is usually repaired very quickly, at most one or two hours is enough. In fact, compared with the time for conditioning horses, this is all It's nothing." Upon hearing Rockefeller's questioning, the engineer immediately defended the own baby.

"Very well, Mr. Hewitt, but if it runs at full load, can this machine last for forty hours?" Scrooge asked. If it can run continuously for 40 hours at full load, then this machine Even in later life, it can be regarded as quite reliable.

The Hewitt engineer, who was originally ecstatic, went dumb. After a while, he said: "Mr. MacDonald, you know that if you want it to run at full load and keep it stable, then the supporting heat dissipation must be completely changed. Otherwise, it only takes a few minutes at full load, and the cooling system will be overwhelmed. Then there will be problems with lubrication and many other systems. Therefore, running at full load for forty hours, although it is not impossible in technology , But as a machine to be placed on a carriage, it is impossible to do this. And it is not necessary. It has 20 horsepower at full load. According to our calculations, this may even make a carriage run to six. It’s ten kilometers. My goodness, can you imagine that there is a carriage running at a speed of 60 kilometers on the yelling street of Xixi?"

"That was a disaster." Rockefeller imagined this scene, and then said so.

"That's right. And a good heat dissipation system is very expensive. We thought, since we don't need to let it run at full power for a long time, then we naturally don't need a very powerful heat dissipation system, which can also save a lot of money. Cost." Engineer Hewitt said. Obviously, the concept of "cost control" has taken root in the hearts of the people.

At the beginning, engineers designed a fairly tall water cooling system for this gasoline engine, including a water tank, a copper heat sink, a water pump to speed up the flow of cooling water, and a fan installed in front of the heat sink. . The results of the test run also proved that the efficiency of this thing is very high. However, after cost considerations, and finally under the direct care of Scrooge, the final heat dissipation system is like this.

The heat dissipation system is still water-cooled, but the volume of the water tank is reduced by a third, and then the area of ​​the heat sink is reduced by half, and the material is also changed from brass to cast iron. The fan in front of the heat sink was also cancelled-anyway, it was installed on the carriage, and when running, there would naturally be an oncoming wind blowing over. In addition, the water pump that speeds up the flow rate of the cooling water has also been canceled and changed to a siphon, allowing the cooling water to rely on the hot water ascending, and the physical characteristics of the cooling water decline naturally circulate in the cooling system by itself.

After this simplification, the effect of the entire cooling system is of course greatly reduced. With the original system, this machine can run for a long time at the highest power, but after replacing it with this simplified version of the cooling system, at the highest power, this If a machine works for less than ten minutes, there will be problems. However, after this simplification, the cost has been reduced to less than a quarter of the original.

In fact, this kind of heat dissipation system is really not a bad idea, because in the original history, Ford later launched the famous Ford Model T with wheels for United States. The heat dissipation system used was exactly the same as this waterless pump. Fanless, cast iron heat sink.

"Has this thing been tested on a car?" Rockefeller asked. Obviously, Rockefeller is very interested in things that can greatly increase the sales of oil.

"We installed this thing on a four-wheeled carriage, and then installed some necessary controls to make a gasoline engine-powered car. We have already conducted some tests. The situation is not bad."

"Well, Hewitt, take us to see that car." Scrooge said.

...

The test track is actually a section of the road outside the large laboratory. Although there is a little snow now, there is no snow on the road. So the test car can still be pulled out and run to show the bosses.

This is an obviously modified carriage from a four-wheeled carriage. The basic structure of the carriage is still retained, except that the position of the coachman has been moved from the outside of the carriage to the inside of the carriage, and the seat in the position where the carriage was originally seated. After being dismantled, the six-cylinder, 4.0-liter, 20-horsepower gasoline engine was placed there unobstructed. Then it was connected to a box with a belt, and a drive shaft protruded from the box, connected to the rear wheel of the carriage.

"What is this box?" Rockefeller asked.

"Gearbox," Scrooge replied. In fact, most of the technology requirements for this car were put forward by Scrooge. Of course, the specific details were all implemented by those engineers. For example, clutches, such as gearboxes, such as differentials, such as throttle and brakes, such as rearview mirrors... Although he is not a professional automotive engineer, Scrooge still knows what will be on the cars of later generations.

"Can I go up and sit down?" Rockefeller asked.

Hewitt turned his head to look at Scrooge. Scrooge asked, "There is nothing wrong with safety, right?"

"I don't know." Hewitt said. "The tests are not over, and the safety tests are not even started. The seat belt you mentioned, Mr. MacDonald, has not been installed yet. So..."

"Okay, let's take a look around." As soon as he heard that safety had not been guaranteed, Rockefeller immediately retreated. As the saying goes, "the son of a daughter does not sit down." They don't know how to do such dangerous things.

The driver Senna stepped forward, ready to test the car. The first is to start the engine. In later generations, starting the engine is extremely simple. Just insert the key and turn it. Some cars are even equipped with the so-called keyless start or even remote start function. But in this era, the way to start a gasoline engine is much simpler and rude. In this car, there is no battery-based start circuit at all. The way to start the engine is to directly use the rocker.

Senna inserted the rocker first, and then shook it vigorously. Driven by the rocker, the engine spun up and then made a roar. Senna pulled the rocker out, inserted it into a jack next to the engine, and put it there, then boarded the car, skillfully put the gear, and then slowly raised the clutch, so the original car's engine spurted out A puff of black smoke then began to move forward.

"Well, not bad." Scrooge said, "Can it be faster? Now the speed is not faster than the carriage. Ah, Mr. Hewitt, the top speed, and the turning functions have been tested? "

"The turning function has been tested, and it is more flexible than a normal carriage, and the top speed has not been tested yet." Hewitt said, "There are too many people on this road. "

Scrooge looked at the engine-powered carriage, and then nodded in understanding. The carriage was the same as an ordinary carriage. All four wheels were very narrow, and only the same thickness as the wheels of mountain bikes in later generations. With such a narrow tire, the grip that can be provided is naturally very small, and it is strange that the car can be braked when the speed is fast. What? You say carriage? How fast can that thing run? Moreover, it lacks the engine, transmission system, fuel tank and transmission system, so it is a lot lighter overall, and the inertia is naturally smaller. Of course there is no problem.

"It's a bit cold today and there are no people on the road, but I just want to try to see how fast I can drive." Hewitt said.

At this time, Senna had already ran a long way along the road.

"There is a fork in the road ahead, we usually turn there and then drive back. You see, he is slowing down and preparing to turn around." Hewitt said again.

Sure enough, Senna reduced his speed, then turned around and drove over here. When he was more than 100 meters away from Scrooge and the others, he started to slow down significantly, and then the car slowly moved in. It stopped more than ten meters away from Scrooge.

"Senna! There is no one on the road today. Why don't you just test how fast this car can run? How about it?" Hewitt said to Senna, who was still sitting high in the cab.

Senna looked at the road ahead, and indeed there was no pedestrian on the road. "Well, I will try." Senna said. In fact, he also wanted to test how fast this car could run.

Senna continued to drive the horse-drawn carriage for several hundred meters, until the "horse-drawn carriage" was as small as a small pushpin in Scrooge's vision, and he turned the front of the carriage, and then his He shook his hand on the steering wheel, and then slammed the accelerator pedal down...

Scrooge saw that the car started slowly moving towards him. Of course, this slowness was Scrooge's view, and he had seen too many speeds much faster than this in later life. He himself had a record of speeding to one hundred and eighteen on the highway and was deducted a separate ticket. At this slow speed, he didn't feel it at all.

But in Rockefeller's eyes, this was not the case. He felt that the car was too fast, as fast as it was flying. When the car passed in front of him, the wind it brought even made him feel that he was about to lose his footing.

At this time, Senna lowered his gaze slightly and saw that the pointer of the speedometer was about to point to forty. The speed is close to forty miles, which is definitely a high speed that humans have never reached before. "I'm the fastest moving person in the world. It's just flying close to the ground." Senna thought.

But at this moment, without knowing where it came from, a stray dog ​​suddenly appeared. Senna slammed on the brakes and slammed in the direction at the same time, trying to avoid the dog. If Scrooge was driving this car at this time, he would never do such a move. He would just let the car hit it upright. Because at higher speeds, such actions will only make the vehicle lose control. Leading to vicious accidents such as a car rollover. But if you bump into it straight, you can add one dish to dinner at most.

So in Scrooge's sight, the car suddenly turned over and rolled a full circle on the road before it stopped. This is how the first automobile accident happened in human history.

Thank you for reading this story at mtlarchive.com. Your support enables us to keep the site running!