Cars completely changed the way we live! Since their invention, people have been able to get around much faster. But have you ever wondered how they work? Why weren’t they invented earlier?

The first car resembling what we have today was invented by Karl Benz from Germany in 1885. This was the first car that used gasoline and was powered by an internal combustion engine, which is what most cars use today. Internal combustion engines rely on a chemical process called combustion, which is releasing energy from a combination of fuel and air. Combustion reactions can be as simple as setting a piece of paper on fire or as complicated as launching a rocket. This combustion reaction happens inside the engine and the engine uses this energy to move the car.

There have been other people who tried to invent a car before Benz’s successful invention. As early as the 1400s, Leonardo Da Vinci, the painter of the Mona Lisa, drew out an idea for a mechanized, horseless carriage. This is basically what a car is, a horseless carriage that can move by itself. In the 1600s, Europeans discovered sailing chariots when they visited China. These vehicles moved using wind power instead of horses. In 1769, a Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot invented a self-propelled vehicle, very similar to a car. However, instead of relying on a combustion engine, this device used steam power. Unfortunately, the fuel source ran out quickly and the car wasn’t very fast, having to stop every 20 minutes for more fuel.