Man and his machines

The efforts of civilized man are directed towards obtaining food and clothing, providing shelter, and gaining satisfying social and intellectual experiences. In all these activities man now makes use of a multitude of machines. Although most of these are of quite recent origin, a few simple ones have come down from very ancient times.

The bow and arrow, for example, were well known to prehistoric man. It was by hunting that he gained his food, and this “machine” was his tool in his struggle for existence.

The wheel, one of greatest inventions ever made by man, is also of prehistoric origin. The inclined plane and its uses have also long been known. It was doubtless by its use that Egyptian slaves lifted the huge stones that went into origin. It is mentioned by the Greek Philosopher Aristotle as a means of lifting, a great weight by using a very small force.

There was a little change in the number of kinds of machines in use for nearly twenty centuries. But then as one new device after another came to displace other that were less efficient, the development speeded up. Let us take a glance at a few of these changes.

Some time ago people traveled in horse-drawn carriages. The speed on these journeys did not exceed thirty of thirty-five miles a day. This was typical of an era that provided only two other methods of land travel – on foot and horseback. Within approximately half a century of that time railroads had been built. At first trains were drawn by horses and in the middle of the nineteenth century the first steam locomotives were put in service.

From that time the development was rapid. The “iron horse” soon proved its superiority both in speed and endurance. New lines were projected and old ones extended. A speed of thirty-five miles a day had given way to regular schedules exceeding many miles in hour.

In the first decade of present century it was thought that the limit of desirable speed had been reached. But later developments – the substitution if the Diesel and electric engines for steam engines, the improvement of roads, the use of light metals in the construction of cars, and the streamlining of trains – have shown that much higher speed may be safely used.

However, the railroad train did not long remain the only means of rapid transit. Soon the automobile appeared. It could be used both for long and short journeys with almost any desired speed which made it very useful for traveling.

The latest and speediest type of conveyance was limited neither by rails nor by highways. It took to the air. In so dong, it greatly reduced the time of travel.

Improved means of transportation of goods have very naturally developed together with those for travel, and facilitated the development of trade.

In the country the days of the wooden plow have passed. The development of tractor made way for the use of a combine. By means of agricultural machines the farmer can not only give much more produce than ever before, but do it more easily. This has been greatly facilitated by the rapid extension of electric lines. Now electric motors instead of muscle power operate the machines.

A similar transformation has taken place in the means of producing clothing which also indebted to the development and widespread use of machines.

Perhaps the greatest advancement since old times has been achieved in the art of communicating ideas. The telegraph, telephone and radio – are the stages in this field of development. But even this has become almost commonplace. The hope to see what is happening at great distances as well as to hear – has now been realized. Television has taken its place alongside with radio not only in the cities but in the countryside as well.

The machine has contributed a great deal to the dissemination of information, the exchange of opinion, and the advancement of learning by increasing the number of copies of books, newspapers and magazines.

The machine has also come to occupy a conspicuous place in the home. In the laundry a machine driven by electric or other power – has become almost universal (a laundry machine, a washing machine). The electrically heated iron, the vacuum cleaner, refrigerator and many others have relieved the housewife of many physical cares and inconveniences.

Thus the machines that have developed in the last hundred years have completely transformed our life.

The constructions of the machines in common use today very complicated. If any of these is taken apart, however, it is found that it consists of only a small number of kinds of parts. These are called the machine elements. They have been named the level, the pulley, the wheel and axle, the inclined plane, the wedge, and the screw.

Since the more complex machines, such as steam engines, automobiles, printing presses, typewriters, etc., are merely combinations of two or more simple machines, a thorough understanding of these main elements is sufficient to enable one to understand the operation of all the others. Much of the mystery attached to the remarkable work of some machines in use disappears when this is understood. A machine for making complicated mathematical computations may seem almost uncanny in its action until it is found that operates on the simple principle of the devices mentioned above. The same is true of whatever other complicated machine one may, chance to see.

COMMENTARY

gaining social and intellectual experiences - придбання соціального й інтелектуального досвіду

makes use of - використовує

within approximately half a century of that time - приблизно через півстоліття після цього

were put in service - почали застосовуватися

it took to the air - він піднявся в повітря