Plug Fusible

21Jul/09Off

Plug Fusible

The First Powered Passenger Car– England 1801

As an Englishman born and bred and a fan of history of steam buses I thought it may be of interest to write an article about the history of the earliest steam busses and The first Powered car. On Christmas Eve 1801 in West Cornwal (UK) an engineer called Richard Trevithick took his new steam vehicle, ( or the "Puffing Devil" as it became known) out for its first test run. This became known as the first powered car and was referred to as England's and the World's first car. The following year in 1802 a steam-powered coach also designed by Richard Trevithick journeyed more than 160 km from Cornwall to London.

After a number of years research, Trevithick had developed a high-pressure engine powered by steam. His vehicle was no more than a boiler on 4-wheels but it took Trevithick and a number of his friends half a mile up a hill. The vehicle's principle feature was a cylindrical horizontal boiler and a single horizontal cylinder let into it. The piston propelled back and forth in the cylinder by pressure from the steam. This was linked by piston rod and connecting rod to a crankshaft bearing a large flywheel.

The vehicle was used for several journeys until it turned over on the unsuitable trails that were used for pack horses in Cornwall at that time. After having been righted, Trevithick and crew drove it back to Camborne and retired to a hostelry.

The water level dropped in the boiler and the fusible plug melted, sending a jet of steam into the furnace where it blew embers all around, setting fire to the surroundings and the wooden parts of the engine.

In 1802 a steam-powered coach also designed by British engineer Richard Trevithick journeyed more than 160 km from Cornwall to London.

The "Puffing Dragon" was the world's first passenger car. Despite the disaster of losing his first vehicle, undeterred, Trevithick built a 3-wheeled steam carriage but this time complete with seats and a real carriage like appearance. In 1803, he drove it through London's Oxford Street on demonstration runs and reached speeds of 8-9 mph (13 - 14 km/h). Despite the runs, nobody was interested and so when he ran out of funds, he sold the power unit to a local Miller. Trevithick's vehicle was the first self-propelled carriage in the capital and in essence the first London bus.

By the early 1800s, heavy steam powered automobiles were in use in England but were bared by the British Laws from public roads and forced the owners to run them on private tracks like the train.

Regular intercity bus services by steam-powered buses were also pioneered in England in the 1830s by Walter Hancock and by associates of Sir Goldsworthy Gurney among others, running reliable services over road conditions which were too hazardous for horse-drawn transportation. Steam carriages were much less likely to overturn, did not "run away with" the customer as horses sometimes did. They travelled faster than horse-drawn carriages (24 mph over four miles and an average of 12 mph over longer distances). They could run at a half to a third of the cost of horse-drawn carriages. Their brakes did not lock and drag like horse-drawn transport (a phenomenon that increased damage to roads).

According to engineers, steam carriages caused one-third the damage to the road surface as that caused by the action of horses' feet. Indeed, the wide tires of the steam carriages (designed for better traction) caused virtually no damage to the streets, whereas the narrow wheels of the horse-drawn carriages (designed to reduce the effort required of horses) tended to cause rutting.

However, the heavy road tolls imposed by the Turnpike Acts discouraged steam road vehicles and left the way clear for the horse bus companies, and from 1861 onwards, harsh legislation virtually eliminated mechanically-propelled vehicles altogether from the roads of Great Britain for 30 years, the Locomotive Act of that year imposing restrictive speed limits on "road locomotives" of 5 mph in towns and cities, and 10 mph in the country.

In 1865 the Locomotives Act of that year (the famous Red Flag Act) further reduced the speed limits to 4 mph in the country and just 2 mph in towns and cities, additionally requiring a man bearing a red flag to precede every vehicle. At the same time, the act gave local authorities the power to specify the hours during which any such vehicle might use the roads. The sole exceptions were street trams which from 1879 onwards were authorised under licence from the Board of Trade.

Please visit myClassic Cars on Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com

My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com

The Chinese call Britain 'The Island of Hero's' which I think sums up what we British are all about. We British are inquisitive and competitive and are always looking over the horizon to the next adventure and discovery.

About the Author

My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th Century AD. I am also a direct descendent of Sir Christopher Wren which has given me an interest in English History which is great fun to research.

I have recently decided to write articles on my favourite subjects: English Sports, English History, English Icons, English Discoveries and English Inventions. At present I have written over 100 articles which I call "An Englishman's Favourite Bits Of England" in various Volumes. Please visit my Blogs page http://Bloggs.Resourcez.Com where I have listed all my articles to date.

Should I get a surge protector or extension plug lead for my computer system?

A FUSE
In electronics and electrical engineering a fuse (short for fusible link), is a type of overcurrent protection device. Its essential component is a metal wire or strip that melts when too much current flows, which breaks the circuit in which it is connected, thus protecting the circuit's other components from damage due to excessive current.

My question is that, I have a computer system (computer,speakers, monitor, printer, router and modem) and would like to know if I should get a "surge protector" or a "plug extension lead with a 13amp fuse"?

I heard something about short circuits, power surges and other damaging stuff which can occur, when there's a storm out. I hope that helps a bit for my question to be answered.

You should get a surge protector or Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). You should not plug a computer or other sensitive equipment into any source that is only "fuse protected"

First, lets discuss the surge issue:
Even a fast acting fuse will not protect a computer from a surge before it burns out. A surge protector is designed to act near immediately to attempt to regulate the voltage supplied to your computer, either blocking the surge or by shorting to ground voltages above a safe threshold. A fuse melts when an overcurrent goes through it (either because of a short in the equipment, a piece of equipment drawing more than the fuse is rated for, and/or too much current finding a path through the equipment).

When looking at a surge protector, you wish to compare the joules rating on it and the reaction time. You want higher joules rating, and lower reaction time. This is definitely an area where quality is worth paying a little extra.

On a side note, virtually all surge protectors come with a fuse as well - but do not confuse a power strip with a surge protector (many look the same).

Computers and other electronic equipment are sensitive to more than just surges though. Surge protectors do not regulate other things such as brownouts, high voltage (such as your line voltage goes over 127 volts) or poor waveform (AC current in the US should be 60hz).

If you live in an area where you frequently get brownouts, blackouts, high voltage or similar situations, you may wish to spend a few extra bucks on a UPS instead of a surge protector. Most UPS units will switch to battery when the line current (from your outlet) either falls above or below a certain threshold to ensure your computer gets the proper voltage - all while also protecting your computer from surges. If you live in an area with really bad power, you can consider purchasing a high end UPS ($100+) which can also filter AC waveforms to ensure your equipment gets 60hz AC.

Regardless of your choice, there are some common mistakes people make that render a surge protector or UPS useless:
- You MUST have a valid ground connection (3rd pin) which goes to a properly grounded location.

- You MUST connect every component that is interconnected into a surge protector or UPS (such as the monitor, powered speakers and printer... otherwise a surge could potentially carry back through the unprotected device into your computer). This also includes any incoming modem, DSL or cable Internet line (pick a UPS or surge protector with the outlets needed for whichever you have).

- You cannot plug a laser printer into most UPS units (unless they specifically say they are rated for it). Use a very good surge protector for it and leave it off the UPS. When a laserprinter starts it's warmup cycle(s), it draws a lot of current very quickly for a short period of time (when it heats the fuser), which can damage a UPS not designed for it.

If you have any other questions that I havent answered, let me know.