The world has seen a huge advancement in the area of transportation, especially within the last 200 years or so. From steam powered trains to modern magnetic levitation high speed trains capable of traveling more than 500 km per hour, the progress has been phenomenal.
Air and Sea Transportation
Ships and boats started out being relatively small. They were usually made of wood or bone and took a very long time to construct. As time went on, they became bigger. In the 1200s, Phoenicians and Greeks constructed large cargo ships that could carry around 200 tons of weight. Roman ships were even bigger, capable of carrying around 1,000 tons. Constructed in the late 1000s, Viking ships were very large, often equipped with 30 oars or more. The 15th century saw the beginnings of European ships which eventually ended up being as large as 125 feet long and 50 feet wide. These were used primarily for wars. Then, there were the iron ships in the late 1700s and early 1880s. These ships were large and became the standard for sailing ships. Today, ships are constructed from iron and run on engines, not sails.
Air travel’s history is a bit shorter. Around 200 BC in China, large kites were used with various degrees of success. In the 3rd Century, legendary Chinese general Zhuge Liang used hot air balloons during wartime. The first successful glider flight came in 875 AD in Spain. All through the 1700s and 1800s, hot air balloons and airships were used for air transportation, but the real star of air travel, the airplane, got its true start on December 17, 1903 when the Wright Brothers, after much experimentation, performed the first controlled flight. In 1907, the first manned helicopter flight took place and in 1910, the seaplane was invented by a French engineer named Henri Fabre.
Aviation’s golden age began in 1918, when different types of planes and engines were being tested. The first patented jet engine was invented in 1930 and when World War II began, planes became a huge part of the war effort. In 1949, the first US commercial airplane trip was taken. During this time, mankind was also experimenting with getting into space. The first successful flight by the US in space was conducted in1957 when the US launched a space capsule into space.
Today, planes are used both commercially and in the military and space ships have been constantly launched into outer space.
Road and Rail Transportation
Road transportation began when people used only their feet to get around. The next stage came when they began using beasts of burden like horses or oxen to aid them during the Stone Age. The first roads weren’t really roads at all, they were just worn paths. Sleds for transport were developed in 5000 BC and in 4000 BC, the first instances of street paving were found in certain areas.
Wheels appeared sometime around 5000 BC and made transport a lot easier. They were attached to simple two-wheeled carts that were dragged by people or donkeys. Four wheeled cats were developed around 2500 BC for oxen. Things continued in this fashion for quite awhile. After carts, carriages became popular in the 19th century and around this time, bicycles were also used.
In 1803, the first steam engine was invented and it led to the invention of the train. On February 22, 1804, the first trained pulled a load nine miles down a track. In 1857, the Pullman Sleeping Car was invented which allowed passengers to stay overnight on a train. Railroads quickly spread all across the United States, allowing people to travel much more quickly across long distances.
The 20th century saw the invention of electric trolley lines. The car was invented in the 1900s, the result of many different inventors combining their ideas. The first cars used steam engines, evolving into gas-powered ones later. Today, a car is almost a necessity and it has come a long way. Now, there are even cars that run solely on electricity.