Steam locomotives

We are going to explain you the different aspects related with steam locomotives with a set of questions to make easier to understand the explanation:

What is a steam locomotive?

A steam locomotive is a type of railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine. You could find them pulling from wagons on the railway, now they are in museums because their use led to a great contamination of the environment.

Who made the first steam locomotive?

The first steam locomotive, made by Richard Trevithick, first operated on 21 february 1804. The first commercially successful steam locomotive was created in 1812–13 by John Blenkinsop.
The Locomotion No. 1 is the first steam locomotive to carry passengers on a public rail line, built by George Stephenson and his son Robert's company Robert Stephenson and Company.

Locomotion at Darlington Railway Center and Museum

How does a steam locomotive work?

These locomotives are fueled by burning combustible material – usually coal, wood, or oil – to produce steam in a boiler.  The steam moves reciprocating pistons which are mechanically connected to the locomotive's main wheels (drivers). Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons (tenders) pulled behind.

Interior of a steam locomotive in the railway museum in Madrid

Telephones

How do telephones work?

Its a very popular question, but, what's the answer?

Telephones

First of all, to answer that question we must know a telephone have several parts: a loudspeaker, a microphone, a push-button keypad and two pairs of copper wires,one to take the signals to the other phone, the other to recieve the signals from the other phone.

Well, we now know the parts of the telephone, so we're going to start to speak about them.

When we pick up a telephone, is just as if we were flicking a switch, we're closing the circuit, thats why when we mark a number without picking it, it doesn't recognize it.

when you have marked the number and phoned, a switchboard (a small computer with all the telephone numbers on its data) connects your telephone with the one you're calling.
When you've already been connected, the diaphragm on the microphone vibrates and converts your voice into electricity that flows into the telephone line till the loudspeaker in the other's telephone, that converts that electricity again into sound.

So the next time someone say ''hopefully I knew how this telephone work'', you can fulfill his wish

Engines

 There are some different types of engines.

Here we're going to talk a bit about all of them

• Heat engine: It is an engine that transforms heat into mechanical work and has a hot and a cold source, the larger the difference of temperature between this  sources, the larger the energy produced.

• Electric motor: It is an engine that uses electrical energy to obtain mechanical energy by the interaction of magnetic fields.

• Physically powered motor: It is powered by kinetic or potential energy. There are two types of physically powered motors:

1.   Pneumatic motor: It converts potential energy (compressed air) into mechanical energy through linear or rotatory motion.
2. Hydraulic motor: It converts hydraulic energy into mechanical energy