When Steam Engines Powered Cars : A Brief History

[@rayunseitig6367]

I love steam stuff.

[@gregmacdonald7710]

Brilliant site!... thank you 👍

[@diedertspijkerboer]

Trevithic was an amazing engineer who pioneered many technologies. Sadly, he was too far ahead of his time for many of his inventions to be an economic success. But the fact that he tried so many new things is a sign of his genius and influence as a trailblazer.

[@rianbey1]

Oh. my Gad! The first trains were trackless!! Mind blown!!!

[@GaryNac]

Granted it might be difficult to go anywhere that fast with steam power but if you needed to get anywhere it would still get the job done even if many of them didn't really go much faster then walking speed and at least the good thing about early steam powered vehicles is that since they didn't move that fast you didnt have to worry about those pesky high speed collisions or air bags.

[@yakut9876]

( 130 miles per hour = 209.2 kilometers per hour )The average car currently has the highest number on its scale (220 kilometers per hour), noting that the driving speed rarely exceeds 100 kilometers per hour. So the steam car is a fast, amazing and simple car.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

​​@@yakut9876Nothing simple about steam cars. Besides steam cars are obsolete..

[@Archive86]

I wonder if it will ever make a comback?

[@Jakeshake-kd2kd]

It has in north Korea

[@nelsonchereta816]

They probably could if kerosene were a lot cheaper than gas or electric. Don't know how likely that is though.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

The answer to that question is a resounding NO... steam is dead in every application except multi-Megawatt powerplants..

[@yakut9876]

​@@WilhelmKarstenSteam is used in ironing/Laundry, chemical processes, sterilization and water desalination.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

@@yakut9876 None of those are Heat Engines... moot point

[@SmallHobbit3]

Interesting video! 🤔

[@JamesPolizzi-q9e]

Interesting British history., but where's the Serpollet? Probably the most innovating steam car of the 19th century

[@kyobydoby8942]

Some people are designing a new steam car right now, and looking for seed capital. It's a long unphill road to getting any new car in production, so we'll see.

[@captiannemo1587]

People have been trying on and off since the 60s. The odds are slim. Extremely high pressure, high temperature steam oil needs to be reinvented. As it hasn’t really existed since the 30s or so.

[@kyobydoby8942]

@@captiannemo1587 The engine's friction parts don't come in contact with steam, so while oil is necessary, it isn't exotic.

[@captiannemo1587]

Jay Leno has had nothing but no results finding speciality oil for his doble steam car.

[@Archive86]

i do like watching Leno's steam cars. He has the money to keep them on the road!@@captiannemo1587

[@paradiselost9946]

@@kyobydoby8942 ummm? cylinder lubrication? rings? valve gear? and the joy of high temperatures is that you need higher combustion temperatures, and half that heat goes up the chimney before youve even started.

[@NautilusMortanian]

Gas power is still ideal according to some. Let's rationalise ideas...

[@paradiselost9946]

it is. the demise of steam was mostly due to gasifiers proving to be far more economical... why bother with water and boilers and safety valves when a simple gasifier could turn coal to gas, and then an engine running on that gas could perform the same work for 1/4 the consumption? why have firemen and stokers and engineers when one man could keep a gasifier and five engines powering dynamos running singlehandedly? no smoke, no soot, no long hours waiting to cool down or heat up, having to descale boiler tubes, deal with leaks, blah blah blah... along with diesel and gasoline and better understanding of electricity allowing for better ignition systems, progresses in metallurgy and machining to allow for better ICE operation... better valve gear, better oils, better understanding of flow and fuel and stoichiometry... i always loved steam but for small, compact transportation? its dead. leave it where it belongs, in power stations driving turbines... the most efficient use of it. doesnt matter how you heat the water, as long as you CAN heat water. vehicles, transport, it needs energy density, low weight, and economy. which doesnt work on a small scale.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

Nicolas Carnot published his formula in 1824 that showed that steam could never match the efficiency of internal combustion, Rudolf Diesel proved his theory in 1897..

[@yakut9876]

photovoltaic panels have 10%-25% efficiency but everyone praises it. hydrogen Fuel cells produce steam, have poor efficiency, and are subject to corrosion, but they are promoted! Water electrolysis is a voracious consumer of electricity and is subject to corrosion, but it is being promoted!!

[@WilhelmKarsten]

​​@@yakut9876Solar and Hydrogen are only promoted because they have no tailpipe emissions... their pollution is less visible.