A Brief History of Motion: From the Wheel, to the Car, to What Comes Next

Second, steam vehicles were frowned on by city authorities because of the noise and smoke they produced, and because of concerns about boiler explosions.

But then Drais made a conceptual leap. He realized that instead of building a human-powered vehicle that imitated a carriage, it made more sense to imitate a horse. He may have been inspired by the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in April 1815, which spread a vast plume of dust and ash around the world, causing months of crop failures and food s

Some highlights have been hidden or truncated due to export limits.

Some highlights have been hidden or truncated due to export limits.

The stationary steam engine constructed by the English inventor Thomas Newcomen in 1712, building on the work of previous experimenters, was used to pump water out of flooded coal mines. Early steam engines were large (Newcomen engines were typically housed in buildings three stories tall) and inefficient, but this did not matter much because they

At the outbreak of Second World War the United States accounted for more than two thirds of world oil production and was producing about 30 percent more than it consumed. So it was able to support its allies with exports to Europe; Germany and Japan, by contrast, lacked secure access to oil, which proved to be a significant factor in their defeat.

French Riviera, one of the first places in the world where motoring for pleasure became fashionable, was particularly badly affected. “I am informed that it has been found impossible of late to either lease or sell certain villas in the French Riviera, and that the paradise of the motorist has become the inferno of the inhabitant,” the diplomat wro

As its name indicates, the omnibus was open to all. It became a symbol of democracy, with good reason. Though omnibuses were mostly used by middle-class riders, some cities introduced subsidies to extend access to the poorest workers. Those who took advantage of these cut-price or “commuted” fares became known as commuters. A French commentator in

Encouraged by this rapid progress, Google established a self-driving car program in 2009, led by Thrun, who hired people he had met during the DARPA challenges, including Chris Urmson (a member of the rival Carnegie Mellon team) and Anthony Levandowski (who had built a self-driving motorcycle).