Plastics are inexpensive and durable as a result levels of plastic production by humans are high. However the chemical structure of most plastics renders them too resistant to many natural processes of degradation and as a result, they are slow to degrade together these two factors have led to a high prominence of plastic pollution in the environment millions of animals are killed by plastic every year. But there are many ways we can reduce plastic pollution by converting waste plastic into a helpful resource.

Chemical Conversion of Plastic Waste into Fuel

We are going to see how plastic is turned into fuel. Imagine a world where a Gigantic of plastic waste can be converted into useful resources again and used for other purposes. Chemical recycling is an attractive way to reduce the explosive growth of plastic waste and disposal problems. We know plastic is just crude oil that has been proposed in different ways and with pyrolysis we can reverse this process.

What is Plastic Pyrolysis?

Plastic pyrolysis is a very effective process where plastic is exposed to high temperatures in an oxygen-free environment. Pyro means heat and lysis means breakdown at any given temperature the molecule is in the vibrating stage this is called molecular vibration.

The frequency at which molecules vibrates is directly proportional to the temperature of molecules during pyrolysis the molecules are subjected to very high temperatures leading to very high molecular vibrations at this high molecular vibration every molecule in the object is stretched and shaken to such an extent that molecules start breaking down into smaller molecules this is Pyrolysis. 

Plastic is hard to break down, and we must add a catalyst to help break the chemical bonds. A Catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction but is not consumed by the reaction and mostly Fly ashes obtained from coal combustion or zeolite etc is used as the catalyst. 

Finally, waste plastic is converted into approximately 80% oil 15% gas, and 5% carbon black or Ash. Let's have a look into how plastic is actually converted into a useful resource there are many steps involved in the plastic pyrolysis process but we are simply going to see 5 simple steps.

Process of Plastic Pyrolysis

Waste plastic to pretreatment process, spreader, pyrolysis, condensation, and refining. Waste plastic is first sent into a pretreatment process that removes any foreign matter and then sent into a plastic shredder is a machine used to cut the plastic into smaller pieces the smaller pieces of plastic are then sent into a densifier that comprises the smaller plastic pieces into a dense material to facilitate easy and storage or handling then they are sent into what chamber where the pyrolysis of plastic takes place. 

The plastic is heated approve 450-degree centigrade in the presence of the catalyst and in the absence of oxygen. The plastic is slowly melted and converted into a gas-gaseous state then the gas is sent into a condenser then the condensation takes place. 

Condensation means the conversion of a vapor or gas to a liquid then it is sent into an oil refinery chamber. Finally, plastic waste is refined into approximately 80% oil 15% cash 5% carbon black, or Ash. This oil is used as heating material and sold to cement glass-ceramic electric power factories, etc. 

And also used in heavy oil generators for electricity generation and it is a deep process into diesel oil with a distillation plant the final oil can be used in truck tractors and many more. 15% gas is recycled into the furnace to heat the reactor instead of using coal, wood, oil, etc and the remaining carbon black is used as slag for construction and also used as a replacement for coal.

Some drawbacks and advantages of plastic pyrolysis

Drawbacks

Pyrolysis is an energy-consuming process more energy has to be put in to treat the waste that can actually be recovered pyrolysis of plastic can never be sustainable etc.

Advantages of plastic pyrolysis

It reduces the waste going into landfills and greenhouse gases and reduces the risk of water pollution it creates new jobs for lower-income people based on the quantity of waste generated in the region and extra which in town provides public health benefits through waste cleanup and extra and this is how waste plastic is turned into a usable resource by using waste pyrolysis.

 Long back ago in 1921 a sharecrop in Rigby Idaho a Mormon family the Farnsworth’s recently moved in. Teenage son Philo was expected to follow in his father's footsteps and become a farmer but he has other ideas.

Philo Farnsworth grows up at a time when you have these great lone inventors who were conquering the world at Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell and they become his heroes it was filled with nervous energy and he was always tinkering and trying to invent things and chance discovery in the farm attic is about to change his life.

Radio

A collection of books and magazines dedicated to scientific advancements like radio the Miracle of sound transported through the air. The radio was very popular back then it was just a brand new adventure finally we are sending through the air but Philo’s books also talked about the next great challenge a new type of radio that can beam pictures as well as sounds many great inventors tried and failed but on this farm in Idaho Philo is about to see a way of making it happen. 

The Idea of Moving pictures

Philo had a two-horse team and the disc carl’s behind him as he’s plowing he finishes and looks behind and that's when it seems that there are lines across the field. Philo sees something in the lines of Earth, the possibility of slicing an image into two parallel rows and the point of light scanning the Rows line by line if it moves faster it could make pictures even moving pictures.

But how can one trick the speed of light to create a picture? In Britain, a Scottish inventor thinks he has the answer his name was John Logie Baird. His solution was a mechanical spinning disc pierced with a sequence of holes each below the next. Beams of light pass through the hole and the lens focuses them on a subject in a darkened room. The light reflecting from the subject is received by photocells which translate it into electrical current transmitted by radio waves a radio receiver turns waves back into electrical current and Feeds it to a Neon lamp a second disk spinning at precisely the same speed then projects the light reassembling the image.

Logi Bairds mechanical TV was elegantly simple it produced fairly crude pictures it was a brilliant invention but wasn’t practically implemented on a large scale. The mechanical disc made the sets too large and they move too slowly to create a sharp image. But Philo thinks he found a better solution in the pages of scientific journals, electrons subatomic so small they can move back and forth tens of thousands of times per second if he can find a way to control them. He realized and understood that electrons would be faster enough to do it one line at a time and that the human eye would see as one picture.

Explaining the Idea of how T.V. could run

He was desperate to tell someone about this idea so one day he sketches it out for his science teacher. Mr.Tollman shows what Philo calls an image dissector. Light enters through a lens it’s converted into electrons which pass through a vacuum and then it turned into electronic signals that can be beamed out wide like a radio signal but this signal recreates the original image. 

Line by line it was the world's first electronic TV camera and his teacher was blown away he couldn't believe that a 14-year-old could conceive these ideas and not alone understand them. Tollman looked at it and said it just might work and that was really all encouragement he needed. 

Philo Farnsworth holds the key to one of the most valuable inventions of the 20th century and it's about to make him a target for jealous arrivals determined to steal his ideas.

 You don’t have to go to uni to recognize the old automation they call it the Spirit of Ecstacy. In 1904 engineer Henry Royce met businessman slash car enthusiast Charlie Rolls in a quaint Manchester hotel for a spot of tea and to talk about Rolls-Royce’s first car.

How Rolls Royce was born

The Royce 10 was powered by 2 2-cylinder gasoline engine with U gasped with 10 Shetlands. Driving was more of an obsession for the upper class than an actual mode of transportation. But Royce’s car was nothing like their competition. 

That's because they were built under his strict code, “strive for perfection in everything you do and make it better”. Charles Royce was a cylinder snob, who preferred four or six-cylinder cars.  But he couldn't believe how remarkably smooth and quiet Royce’s car was. Rolls set aside and told Royce “If you build them then I'll sell them I’ll sell them” Thus Rolls-Royce was born.

Rolls-Royce's first car

In 1906 Rolls-Royce debuted their foremost major car design named the 40/50 because that was the car taxable hrprs. The 7-liter 6-cylinder engine was way ahead of its time relying on pressurized engine lubrication dual ignition and advanced carburization to give the cars both a smoothed and flexible power delivery. 

The car was released in 1907 and to prove how trustworthy it was, Claude Johnson the commercial and managing director of Rolls-Royce ordered one of the cars to be built with silver plated fitting. It was nicknamed Silver Ghost.

Silver Ghost

The Silver Ghost was driven 15,000 miles and never broke down. Even the people at Mercedes-Benz were like oh my God. Because it was so unbelievable they forgot what holy crap was in German. The 40/50 became the panicle of Automotive reliability. Wealthy people from all over the world lined up to pay the weeping unheard-of $4000 for the car. 

In today's money to be fair, that is a life of $105000. And that was only for Rolls chassis. You then had to take the car to Coachbuilder and drop another $50000 on the doors seeds and body panels. The rich didn't care and Henry Royce said, “The quality will remain long after the price is forgotten”.

In 1913 the 45/50 finished in the grueling 1820 miles really known as Alpenfarht, and by 1914 even the British military was buying them because they were literally built like tanks. after being crowned the Emperor of safety Rolls-Royce set its sights on becoming the king of power and speed.

R Engine( Fastest Machine)

In late 1920, the design for the legendary R engine was originally made for air racing purposes. It's tough showing a 37 liter V12 2800 HP engine under the hood of a car, but in a plane, the submarine as point S.6B prop plane becomes the fastest machine on earth. 

When it flew 407.5 mph that's the jet’s proportion speed. Also, why it is named a plane that is named after a submarine but also equally as awesome?

Fastest car

Car enthusiast Sir Malcolm Campbell took notice of the airplane's accomplishment and he thought maybe he could show the Roll Royce engine in a car. So then he decided to put the R-engine which was initially for aircraft engines, in the car. And named the car BlueBird.

In 1935, it became the first car to go over 300 miles per hour. On the first gear, the bluebird was capable of going hundred 110 miles per hour. On second gear, she can do just over 205 miles per hour. That is faster than any modern car like Ferrari, McLaren, or even Koenigsegg. 

Seeing the scenario of the automobile industry now, what are we doing for the past  80 years? Freaking Bluebird went over 300 mph did it even have seat belts? probably not. 

R-Engine was tested in water

With Rolls-Royce powering the fastest thing on land and in the air all that was left was to conquer the sea. In 1938 they completed the trifecta, by setting the water speed record of 103.91 mph in a hydroplaning power board named the Bluebird K3. Because I guess they ran out of names. 

After Rolls-Royce had proven it could be the most reliable and the most powerful engine, they set their sights on building the most luxurious cars. The only problem was that up until they had only made engines and chassis. They didn’t make the bodies.

Started building the whole car

So in late 1930, they started bringing luxury coachwork companies like Park Ward Limited in-house. The infamous Rolls Royce Wraith was a thing of magnificence that was still been produced by different coach Builders. In 1949 the Rolls-Royce silver Don became the first model to be offered with an actual Rolls-Royce board on earth it was a thing of elegance and beauty and its inline-six could get up to 94 miles in an hour.

The Beginning of Spirit of Ecstasy

The Silver Don was followed by the Silver Cloud in 1955 and marked the beginning of a consistent aesthetic design that included the giant Parthenon grill and spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament. With body and manufacturing sorted out Rolls-Royce started adding Prosperous and luxurious components to their cars things as electric razors and cigar humidors. 

Rolls-Royce which once was synonymous with reliability, where power was now thought of as primarily the fanciest vehicle on the road. And anything associated with the car is also considered fancy be it a celebrity or business person.

From 1955 through 1970 Rolls-Royce made bespoke versions of exclusive cars with relatively few aesthetic changes. Rolls-Royce has its own aesthetic. 

Fall of Rolls Royce

But by 1980, dropping Global markets and shrinking sales turned the once-great automaker into a tragic tale. Rolls Royce was sold and isolated and was again sold and again isolated. 

Over the next two decades, nobody really knew what to do with this brand. If you are only selling to a few people how you do float.

Finally, in 1998 BMW took over Rolls-Royce minus the Spirit of Ecstasy mascot. They could only borrow that which did for $40 million. And in 2003, Rolls-Royce opened its brand new Goodwood plant in Sussex, England, and totally redeemed itself.

Rise of Rolls-Royce

The new Rolls-Royce was like if you want to buy a fancy car you can go buy a Cadillac, a Lexus, or a Mercedes but if you want to drop a doublet in the executive bathroom you can buy a Rolls. In 2003 they demonstrated recommitment to giving their cars more power. 

They launched the Ultra Luxury Rolls-Royce Phantom VII in 2003. The car was a marvel of modern engineering just like George Luca’s Phantom Menace. The Phantom VII was a game-changer for Rolls-Royce with its 6.8-liter V12 engine launching the nearly 3-ton vehicle from 0 to 60 in under 6 seconds.

But it was the highly customizable aspects of the car that made it stand out it marked the merging of Rolls-Royce making the greatest luxurious car in the world pedigree with their make most powerful car engine origins.

Rolls-Royce started making Exclusive cars

Rolls-Royce realized that their exclusive clients wanted exclusive cars because nothing worse than spending half a million bucks on a car and then seeing a dozen of the same exact cars in a parking lot. So Rolls was like, “We give all of our customers 44000 Paints to choose from”. For the cushioning standard leather comes exclusively for Simmental bulls raised in moist regions with rich grasses to graze on so their hides don't dry out. And the interior team doesn't limit the color to a measly 44000 colors. 

They will let you pick any color you want even made-up colors like James Pumpernickel Brown and if you don't like bull hide, you can choose from lots of other materials like an ostrich, alligator even rodent pelts. For trim pieces, there are hundreds of wood and synthetic trims to choose from. If you want something super Omega top Toblerone fancy. You can have literal diamonds inlaid into the trim. You can choose the color of your $700 door umbrella and of course, the spirit of Ecstasy comes in your choice of metals or illuminated crystals but while opulent all these customized looks don't really change the car.

In 2014 Rolls-Royce decided to show the world that could make cars that could handle them and they unveiled the reimagined Wraith. These entry-level Rolls start at just a dollar 317000 and squeeze 624 HP from their V12. It’s purposefully lighter and more nimble. Yes, it's an enormous Rolls-Royce but its more compact wheelbase and sportier suspension mean you are going to want to take it to anyone instead of your chauffeur.

Most Expensive Rolls-Royce car

In 2017, Rolls unveiled the most expensive new car in the history of new cars up until this year the Rolls-Royce Sweptail. They used the privately commissioned 13 million dollar car as a conceptual launching point for the newest bespoke option known as a coachbuilder. Their coach-build service offers customers who are unrestrained by time or money the opportunity to design and build their own custom Rolls. The ever-present Phantom now makes 563 HP from a Twin-Turbo V12.

The Ghost II is soldering on and figures as classical new as it did when it came out first. The Wraith is still kicking through corners and it's been joined by its convertible cousin the Dawn. Nice name Nicer the looks. They also have a Black Badge edition Wraith that makes 40 more HP. 

Rolls-Royce's SUV named after the largest Diamond 

They even have an SUV now, the Cullinan is everything Rolls-Royce has ever been more and more. It’s named after the largest diamond ever found and before you get upset that it's not named after a Ghost and like others. The Diamond is named after Thomas Cullinan and the Cullinan is unique among Royces because of its rear liftgate and all-wheel drive.

The new ghost isn't out yet but even in its camo covering it looks linear and more aggressive than its earlier brethren and that’s saying a lot.

Rolls Royce’s aren't for everybody that obvious. But even if you are rolling in some other $50000 car and if one pulls up next to you you'll feel like a sting of envy, wishing you were driving that Rolls Royce.

 Strive for Perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exits, Design it

- Sir Henry Royce, English Engineer, and car designer

 A machine was made by using the Slider crank mechanism for indexing purposes which reduces human interaction. The main objective was to make machinery for stamping and provide a machine with low cost, high accuracy, less floor area, and less interaction of human beings. As it comes under the Kinematics of Machinery. The slider-crank mechanism reduces the floor space while also making the loading, unloading, and indexing simple within one mechanism.

A Mini Stamping Machine Mechanism

Stamping is a process for producing text or images using a master form or templates. Every industry requires stamping to obtain a finished product and to advertise its product to its customers. Stamping of details on the products can be done either manually or automatically. Here we are highlighting the use of a manually working stamping machine that works on the slider-crank mechanism. The Slider-crank mechanism is a particular four-bar link configuration that exhibits both linear and rotational motion simultaneously. Slider cranks are of two types: In-line and offset. Here in this project, an offset type of slider-crank mechanism is used.

Offset: If the line of travel of the hinged joint of the slider does not pass over through the base pivot of the crank, the slider movement is unsymmetric. It moves faster in one direction rather than the other.

Construction & Working

The slider-crank mechanism is the alignment of mechanical parts designed to transform straight-line motion to rotary motion or vice versa. The stamping machine mechanism is based on the slider-crank mechanism. The basic nature of this mechanism and the relative movement of the parts can be described. 

In this mechanism, there are 3 fixed links, 3 movable links, and a crank wheel that moves circularly. The fixed frame or block has 3 fixed links; the first fixed link is connected to the crank. The crank rotates circularly and transmits its rotating motion into a sliding motion using a pin joint (rivet) to another link attached to the fixed link. At the end of the last link, the stamp is fixed to it so that it can only follow a path on which it can trace it, the stamp follows a certain circular path (fixed) on which it touches the datum.

The video demonstrates how the project works.

Advantages & Disadvantages

• Stamping is faster and requires less labor and machine work, so it is the most cost-effective even in the metal forming method today.

• The perfect way to manufacture large quantities of products.

• The stamping process can be completed in less time as compared to stamping done by hand.

• Other mechanisms can be used by replacing the slider-crank mechanism. This machine is slow and less productive than an automatic stamping machine.

• The product finish is not so good when compared to the automatic stamping machine.

• An automated electric-powered stamping machine is a good option over a manually operated machine.

Applications

The applications of a slider-crank mechanism are:

 A reciprocating engine, Rotary engine, Oscillating cylinder engine, Hand Pump, Scotch Yoke, Oldham's coupling, Elliptical Trammel, and stamping machine. The easy way to understand the slider-crank mechanism is the hand pump as one can practically test that and can have experience with the mechanism.

So, the mechanical structure of the stamping machine working by the mechanism of the Slider Crank was successfully designed. With the help of a slider-crank mechanism, we got sufficient time to stamp on the desired position as well as to feed the paper at the desired time. Hence, we designed a structure that operates at low cost, with low time consumption, and with ultimate accuracy. Hence this design is purely based on, mechanical structure. 

Conclusion

So, to conclude in this stamping machine mechanism rotary motion is transmitted through the movable links using pins(rivets) which gets converted into stamping on the datum.

This project was done by my team and me during my second year of engineering. And also you can see the other project on Fluid mechanics. Hope you'll like it! If so please do comment down below about your views.

 Over the past decade, we have seen multiple industries looking to transition to renewable fuel sources, and while we have seen making huge strides in the production of renewable energy, the technology required to grant every industry to use it has not kept balance. In theory, we could replace every coal-burning power plant in the world in the morning and manage just fine.

If we had a reasonable way of storing that energy cost-effectively and efficiently, this energy storage dilemma is slowing our adoption of renewable energy and one of the industries that are most apparent in the aviation and aerospace industry.

Elon Musk is running around pushing electric cars and solar-powered home development. Every time of launching of Falcon 9, burns 147 tonnes of fossil fuel which top Boeing and Airbus are in the constant battle to create the most fuel-efficient plane allowing customers to save on every increasing fuel cost and increase the bottom line yet take are still using kerosene energy from the grid is cheaper. So what gives? 

Why isn't the Aviation industry transitioning to renewable fuels?

The aviation industry has one massive hindrance to cross before it can successfully adopt renewable energy. The energy density of storage methods. Energy density is a measure of the energy which we can harness from 1 kg of an energy source. For kerosene, the fuel Jet Airlines use that's about 43 megajoules per kg. Currently, Even our best Lithium-ion batteries come in around 1 megajoule per kg. Battery energy is over 40 times heavier than Jet fuel. 

So why is this such a problem? 

A plane flies when lift equals the weight of the plane. So when we increase the weight we have to increase the lift which requires more power. Needing more power means we need more batteries which increases the weight again. 

To understand why this is such a difficult problem let's do some back-of-the-envelope calculations to convert, the Airbus a320 and a small personal aircraft like Cessna, to battery power. Ultimately we want to know the power requirement of flight and how it will draw on the battery's energy supply. The work-energy theorem tells us that work equals force into delta x (W=F*∆x) where ∆ X is the distance over which a force acts. Power is work for unit time so P equals work divided by time(P=W/t).

Inserting our equation for work we get an equation for power that equals Force multiplied by distances divided by time (P=F*∆x/t) otherwise known as velocity(P=F*∆v). Where ∆v is the velocity of whatever it is getting worked on. 

In this case, it's the air. When a plane is flying at a constant height we know that the force of lift and the force of gravity are balanced. That means the upward pressure of lift has to be equal in magnitude to the downward pull of gravity which equals the mass of the plane multiplied by Gravity. So the power requirement for lift equals the mass of the plane multiplied by the gravity and the ∆v.

So the question arises what is ∆v?

It's the falling velocity of the air that the plane pushes downward so let's call it ∆vz. To find its value we have to think about the mechanism of the lift. The lift of an airplane provides equal to the rate it delivers downward momentum to the air it displaces this means that the force of gravity must be equal in magnitude to the downward velocity of the deflected air time the rate at which air is deflected; the mass of air that the plane of effects is simply the volume of the cylinder that it swept out per unit time, times the density of air.

If we call the suitable cross-sectional area Asweep, then the volume it sweeps out per unit of time is the sweep time of the plane's velocity. Therefore, the mass flow rate is equal to the density of air times the cross-sectional area times the velocity of the plane. Now the only outstanding quantity that we don't know is the area of air affected by the plane Asweep. This isn't the cross-sectional area of the plane it’s the area of influence the plane has on the surrounding air. This changes with the relative velocity of the plane and the air around it but at cruising speed, the plane dissipates vortices that have roughly the radius of the length of the plane's wings.

Approximately this circle square because we don't have enough ridiculous assumptions in the calculation the relevant area becomes L2 at cruising speed. putting it all together we have the force lift needed to provide this equation. this equation is simply telling us the plane is sweating out a tube of air and shifting it down and the downward acceleration of air is equal to the downward pull of gravity on the plane. So the plane awards falling constantly paying the types of streaming Momentum downward via the air system. Rearranging the equation we can now solve for ∆vz in terms of quantities we can easily measure. And plugin this into a low power equation the power needed for lift is given by this equation

With the equation in hand, we can start noticing what variables really impact the energy requirements of the plane.

Imagine that as the plane flies faster the power drawn by the engine actually gets smaller but this equation neglects to consider drag. It just so happens that the total power needed to fly is minimized when the force of lift and the force of drag become equal so we simply need to double our power requirements to get out total power requirement at cruising speed. Now we are getting a real picture of why increasing the mass of a plane is such an issue. The mass component of this equation is not only squared but also double. doubling the mass will increase our power requirement 8-fold.

With this knowledge in hand let's start calculating the real-world consequences of converting an Airbus A32 to start we can take the battery weight to be a usual mass fraction that is devoted to fuel about 20% of the Planes masses for both. We also need to take into account the fact that at the flying altitude, the atmosphere is much thinner than at ground level. For Cessna, the density falls by a factor of 2, and for Airbus a factor of 3. Let's be generous and take the specific power off leading-edge lithium-ion systems at about 0.340 kilowatts per kg.

To meet the power demand Airbus would need 34 tons of batteries (10500kw/0.340 = 31000kg). While the Cessna would need just 100 kg (35kw/0.340lw/kg =100kg). For the Cessna, this compares very favorably with the typical weight of field it would carry otherwise and it isn't terrible for the Airbus but this is just the power the plane needs at any interval of time. 

We are really interested in the weight of batteries that we would need to match the typical range of these planes. For Airbus, that's a 7-hour flight from JFK to LHR, and for Cessna that might be a 4-hour flight from New York to South Carolina. the energy capacity required for a trip is given by this equation by multiplying the power required for the flight by the duration of the flight.

Again if we use leading-edge lithium-ion battery capacity we can store about 278 watt-hours per kg. For the Cessna, the equivalent battery weight is around 500 kg or just less than two birds the weight of the plane without fuel. For the a320 the required battery weight is around 260000 250000 kg or about four times the weight of the empty airplane. compared to the typical 20% that are located to fuel this is Devasting. 

Now that we have a base figure for half having the batteries are going to be we can recalculate the actual range taking the added weight of the batteries into account let's assume at the very least we are not going to accept the reduction in flight speed or increases in Total energy used per flight.

How much is the range diminished for flights of similar speed and Total energy? As expected this downgrades Cessna’s flight time from 4 hr to about 2 hr. Not nominal but cleavable? A two-seater Cessna usually holds about 150 kg of fuel and another 100 kg for passengers and luggage.

It is easy to imagine endowing the Cessna with the required battery capacity through a combination of lowering the carrying capacity lowering speed increasing the wingspan with lighter parts and a more efficient electric engine. in fact, this is exactly what we are seeing with small electric aircraft coming to market in the past few years like the Alpha Electro. However, the downgrade is marked for the a320 taking us from 7 hours down to just 20 minutes less than 120th of the way across the Atlantic. If we plot the flight duration as a function of our battery mass for both planes we can see that the Cessna is already sitting around the optimum and could increase a battery capacity and improve the flight range.

It's a different story for their Airbus where we overshot our optimum battery capacity significantly. Reducing our battery weight to 60 tonnes will increase flight duration by about 15 minutes. We could last a little bit longer before crashing into the ocean assuming we could find a place to fit those 60 tons of batteries in the first place. 

But we have been seeing great strides with short-range small aircraft coming to market and if we fly very slowly with lower drag wings we can even build a solar-powered drone that never has to land. We won't be seeing Airlines using electric engines anytime soon unless we can find a more energy-dense medium for storing that energy.

Your favorite car company might be owned by a different car company and you don't even know it. Jeep? owned by Acura? Owned by, Chevy? owned by oh come on! So the question is who owns whom.

Almost every car company nowadays is owned by a mega-corporation. Honestly, only 15 corporations around the world own most of the cars manufactured today. We see only a few independent car manufacturers and that can be both good and bad. 

General Motors

Let's start with one of the biggest companies out there General Motors. Presently they rake in more than $145 billion annually. 

But it wasn't so easy for General Motors (GM) until it started as a holding company which in its simplest form is a company that buys other companies. Their first acquirement was Buick back in 1907. Later they acquired Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and the Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, which was later formed as GMC. 

In 1918 they also acquired Chevrolet the brand that would grow to become one of GMC’s biggest income producers. It's not just American Brand though. GM also owns Chinese manufacturers like Wuling, Baojun, and Jiefang. Just a disclaimer: there will be a lot more Chinese names and I'm probably going to break those too. Other car companies within the GM family include Holden, Saab, Opal, and Daewoo. Of those manufacturing, cars are only Holden and Opel.

PSA

And note that Opal is no longer owned by GM but why another group called PSA. The PSA group is a French multinational corporation that also owns Opel, Peugeot, Citroen, Vauxhall, and the premium mark DS. They once owned Chrysler Europe, which they bought in 1978 for Dollar 1. PSA makes upward of 75 billion dollars annually, making it the largest French automobile manufacturer. 

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi

But right below them is Renault. Renault does 58 billion annually, but they are part of a bigger group named the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. Although they are not technically a Merger they kind of operate as one. Renault has a 43% stake in Nissan, Nissan has a 15% stake in Renault, and a 34% stake in Mitsubishi. This umbrella group is the parent company of Infiniti, Datsun, Dacia, ArtoVAZ, Alpina, and the defunct brand Lada. All in all the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance brings in $190 billion in annual sales making them the number 3 top auto manufacturing group in the world. So what does this all mean for the customer?

Why is it possible to buy a car for cheap?

Well, big car companies make it possible to buy a car for cheap right now you can buy a Nissan Versa for the other $ 13000 brand new. But it probably costs Nissan hundreds of millions of dollars to develop the thing. A car company that just starting to get off the ground can’t afford to sell a car that costs them hundreds of millions of dollars for that cheap. But Nissan can. The profit margin of economy cars is razor-thin but Nissan sells millions of verses to make it up for it. 

It’s also easier to mass-produce parts that can be installed in many different models versus developing a car from the ground up. You probably heard of a car company going to their parts bin right? One downside of this is that cars can all start looking the same or at least feeling the same using Nissan as an example the GTR $200,000 Supercar might share parts with economically cheaper cars in their lineup. 

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)

Chrysler merged with Italian car manufacturer Fiat back in 2014 to form Fiat Chrysler Automobiles or FCA. The Merger had been underway since Chrysler announced bankruptcy in April 2009 but it wasn't finalized until 5 years later. This group is responsible for $111 billion in sales per year and it is made up of many smaller subsidiaries. Chrysler owns Jeep, Dodge, and Ram but they are also the parent company of other defunct brands such as AMC, Eagle, and Plymouth. Fiat owns Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Lancia and has a 90% stake in Ferrari.

Daimler Benz

The name Daimler has been around since 1880 but it wasn't until 1926 that they consolidated with Benz to become Daimler Benz and started generating the Mercedes Marks. As a conglomerate, they are responsible for over $188 billion in annual sales all across the world. These numbers are getting so big that they are losing meaning. They own Mercedes-Benz and the now-defunct Maybach along with Chinese companies Denza and BAIC. Although they are often in the same category, BMW makes around $75 million less than Mercedes coming in just at under 113 billion dollars a year. That's great by BMW! Bayerische Motoren Werke owns Mini as well as Rolls Royce and I'm pretty sure I butchered that name too. 

Toyota

Toyota is another company that got its hands in a bunch of different cookie jars they took in almost 261 billion dollars last year with its brand Lexus, Hino Motors, Daihatsu, three more Chinese companies as well as the defunct Scion brand. They also own of 5.9 % stake in Suzu and 16.6% in Subaru and that's how you get a nearly identical car like the Toyota 86, the Subaru BRZ, and the Scion FR-S  they share a lot of the same parts and are essentially the same cars surprisingly Toyota has largest Japanese competition Honda makes about half as much as they do at 139 billion dollars with Acura being the only other car badge they own. South Korea-based Hyundai owns Kia and Genesis and pulls in almost 86 billion dollars a year. 

TATA Group

The TATA Group based out of Mumbai India pulls in a cool hundred billion dollars in sales through the brand Jaguar Land Rover and of course Tata. The only Chinese group that makes this list is Geely, the group has been around since 1986 and really only entered the automobile market in 1997 making them one of the brand's new and most blooming car manufacturers to date. This group is on Chinese brands Geely and Lynk as well as Lotus, Volvo, and Proton. They bring in about $15 billion a year in sales. 

The only two independent Brands

Suzuki and Tesla 

The only two brands on this list that are independent are Suzuki based out of Japan and relative newcomer Tesla. They do about $34 billion and $12 billion in sales respectively. Suzuki has been around for over a hundred years and its profits rely heavily on its motorcycles and ATV sales. Tesla has only been around since 2003, so how are they able to roll with the big boy's Tesla business strategy?

The Business Theory of Tesla

Tesla was to sell their high-end electric cars to a more affluent crowd at first. More expensive vehicles have a much higher profit margin so fewer sales are needed to make the money back. Then, when they become more financially stable, they could release models that were more affordable to embroider the consumer base. So the sales of higher models bankrolled the RND for the People's car the model 3. Basically, it was the opposite business model for Volkswagen which happens to be the number one highest-producing conglomerate in the entire automotive industry.

Volkswagen Group

The Volkswagen group is made up of Audi, Porsche, Volkswagen, Bentley, Bugatti, Seat, Skoda,  Lamborghini, and other small subsidiaries. They raked in over $278 billion in 2018 and employ over 6,30,000 people in 153 countries worldwide. they produced 10,083,000 vehicles last year. 

Sure your favorite brand might be owned by some bigger most likely dull brand but don't let that discourage you. Because without their helping hand, your favorite rides might not be around you at all.

 When you think of celebrities and cars who comes to your mind? Some people might think of Shahrukh Khan for his Hyundai Commercial, and Brie Larson for her Nissan commercial. But I have a different name for you Muhammad Ali yeah that is Muhammad Ali! The legendary boxer, the Civil rights activist, and every college freshman dorm had a photo of him standing over Sonny Liston. But did you know that he owned a car company based out of Brazil? Tape up your hands and buckle up because this story will float like a butterfly and sting like a bee!

First of all, how does somebody like Mohammed Ali and a small Brazilian car company like Puma meet? To find out, we need to do a little bit of backtracking to answer questions like this: what is Puma? what kind of car was it? How did Muhammad Ali get involved?

Industrialization in Brazil

Will first need to take a brief look history of the car industry in Brazil. Pre-1956 Brazil was mostly an agricultural Nation whose main export was coffee. The only notable thing related to the car industry was that Ford had been there since 1919 assembling Model T’s in Sao Paulo. However, during the 1950s, the Brazilian government made efforts to industrialize the country, and one of the big steps they took to achieve that was to encourage domestic car production. 

Brazil applied heavy import taxes on vehicles that were not produced in the country and banned import altogether for a long time, and to be Frank, these import taxes and bans worked!  To avoid these new hurdles, General Motors, Toyota and Volkswagen would all soon build their factories within Brazil, but before the foreign companies set up shop this burgeoning industry also accelerated the creation of local Brazilian automakers and they were a little different as well. These first Brazilian car companies were mostly of the specialty in kit car variety. 

One of these cars for the DKW Malzoni was built in Sao Paulo and gained popularity rather quickly.

 It's hard to believe that the mere presence of a constant low and high temperature can result in pulsating motion, but then along comes the genius mind of Robert Stirling. The inventor of the Stirling Engine.

What is the Stirling engine?

The Stirling engine is an engaging device that converts a temperature difference into mechanical work. Hot water near the hot side and room temperature on the cold side is enough to make it work.

How does Stirling Engine Work?

This exciting device is known as Stirling Engine. To understand how this device works or how Mr. Stirling's mind worked at the time of this invention. To start, separate the hot-cold plates, within the insulating material. Let's introduce a thick insulating cylinder called the displacer, if the displacer is at the bottom it will obviously prevent the heat flow from the bottom plate which means the majority of the air undergoes heat transfer you the upper cold plate, and the air volume approach is the surrounding air temperature. 

If the displacer is moved up the exact reverse will happen and the air will heat up when the air temperature inside this volume increases its pressure also increases. Robert Stirling's next brilliant idea was to use this high pressure to run a power system, the same power piston can move the displacer up or down. 

Mechanism of Stirling engine:

Let's see how he achieved it practically to achieve this objective Robert Stirling connected one more Crank on the same rotating shaft of the power piston, this time at a 90-degree offset to the first crank now this crank is connected to the displacer, he also added a flywheel in the shaft the use of which we will come to know later. Now let's see how this arrangement achieves the robot sterling's objectives when the bottom plate of the engine is heated up. 

Working of Stirling engine:

Let's start with the power piston's lowest position if you check the position of the displacer it is almost in the middle the air obviously gets heated so its pressure increases which move the piston up. While observing the displacer clearly during the upward piston motion the displacer moves up and supports the additional heat from the hot plate, the displacer prevents the cold heat transfer during this motion which means that during the upward piston motion the air's temperature and pressure keep increasing and the piston extracts the energy. 

However, after reaching the top the displacer is again in the middle which means that the heated air can lose heat to the cold plate obviously this process reduces the pressure of the air volume due to the momentum of a big flywheel, the piston will now start its downward journey during which the air loses progressively more heat and pressure, therefore, the piston is downward motion happens without much difficulty after the piston reaches the bottom position we are back at the starting point and the cycle repeats.

What happens when the Stirling engine is kept on a cube of ice?

It's a beautiful way of producing reciprocating motion, isn't it? Now you can predict how this machine will behave if we keep an ice block below it, here the inside air temperature and pressure become lesser than the atmospheric temperature and pressure the low pressure inside the chamber means the force acting on the piston will be in the downward direction, so the piston has to move down this way the engine rotates in the opposite direction. 

How efficient is the Stirling engine?

In short, this engine will keep on working unless and until there is a temperature difference between the two plates. The greater the temperature difference the greater the engine speed and power output. 

Compared to other internal combustion engines of the same power Stirling engines have more efficiency, and the thermal efficiency is comparable to small engines. Stirling engines have an amazing energy conversion efficiency. 

 The brake is what makes it possible for humans to control motor vehicles and stop quickly. For over a century, braking systems have evolved into more complex devices to adapt to different load conditions.

They are a key part of the amazing technology that is the automobile which top to break has transformed greatly over time.

 Today we are revealing some interesting and surprising facts about one of the most dominant and long-lasting brands in the luxury automotive industry for this we are going to focus all of our attention on Mercedes-Benz. 

How Mercedes-Benz was formed?

Mercedes-Benz was established when two German automobile companies run by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merged to create the Daimler-Benz patent company in 1926 and soon after it was renamed, Mercedes-Benz. 

The first Mercedes-Benz owned by Hitler

The first joint car they produced was the Mercedes 770 model which Hitler was known to drive with a bulletproof windshield over the used. Mercedes-Benz has been a leader in innovation in technology and safety and has developed some of the most popular luxury cars of all time. 

Mercedes's slogan is the best or nothing and we know this reflects the mindset of many people out there. Mercedes-Benz is an excellent source of inspiration for future billionaires due to their luxury mindset in forward-thinking ways not to mention their longevity and their drive for success.

Now let's take a look at the facts you didn't know about Mercedes-Benz:

Karl Benz created the first modern automobile. Karl Benz was actually the first to create and patent the model automobile in 1886 his vehicle was called the patent motorwagen and it was comprised of 3  wheels a Steel Tube frame of wooden panels in a small gasoline-powered engine it only had two-thirds HP. But Karl had to start from somewhere his wife Bertha Benz financed and marketed the invention.

Story Behind Naming Mercedes

Mercedes's name came from an 11-year-old girl. The Mercedes brand name came about as a result of Austria diplomat and racing enthusiast Emil Jellinek insisting that the series of 36 sports cars he ordered from the Daimler company be renamed after his 11-year-old daughter Mercedes. 

The car was completed in 1901 and Jellinek dominated in every racing event entered with them. Daimler decided to stick with the name after quickly developing an impressive reputation and they trademarked the brand in 1902.

The invention of the Brake pad

Bertha Benz was the first person to take a road trip in a modern automobile. Bertha Benz the wife of Karl Benz brought National attention to the Benz patent motorwagen when she and her sons drove the car over 130 miles round trip. The first time the automobile had been driven a considerable distance. She took off without telling her husband with her two sons aged 13 and 15 hoping to prove the viability of the invention. 

But people were not used to seeing cars on the road so many became frightened and some even thought the horseless carriage was to work of the devil she solves several problems with the automobile along the way like cleaning a blocked few lines with her hat pin and having a cobbler install leather when the wooden breaks began to fail to make the world's first pair of the brake pad.

What does the 3-point logo represent in Mercedes?

The three-pointed logo almost had a fourth point added, the Mercedes-Benz three-point logo represents its domination of the land, air, and water. The Logo has evolved through the years with the first three-point starter being used in 1909, there was discussion about adding the fourth point to represent space as well.

The First Driver's License

Karl Benz was given the very first driver's license individual states and countries started exploring the need to issue driver's licenses in the early 1900s but Karl Benz had the distinction of being the first to secure a license to operate a motor vehicle. 

In 1888 he requested written permission from local authorities after there had been several complaints in his community about the noise and smell of his first modern automobile prototype.

Now, who owns the Mercedes?

Daimler AG owns Mercedes. Daimler-Benz was transitioned over a new name Daimler AG in 1998, They own all of Mercedes divisions such as Benz, the AMG, and a Maybach.

 Karl Benz was born on the 25th of November 1844 in Karlsruhe Germany. He attended Polytechnic University there before gaining his first practical experience at various mechanical engineering companies. He was a German Mechanical Engineer.

Karl Benz - Automotive Innovator

The early life of Karl Benz

After gaining some experience from various mechanical firms then he founded his own company with his one fellow companion in 1872 Eisen geese of iron which was later named Factory of Machines and sheet metal however it was not much of a success at first and it was only the dowry of Karls's wife Bertha that saved them from immediate loss.

Karl Benz developed his two-stroke engine design

In 1877 Karl Benz started developing 2 stroke engine and after 2 years it ran sufficiently for the first time. The patent for gas-fueled Four-stroke cycle engines was already owned at that time by the Gasmotoren-Fabrik Deutz (Daimlers company). 

Nevertheless, Benz did patent some of his inventions such as his engine speed regulator, a stock corporation under the name Gasmotoren-Fabrik Mannheim (Karl's company) was set up in 1882 Karl Benz resigned from it a short time later though.

Benz & Companie Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik

Only the founding of the Benz & Companie Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik and the entrepreneur Max rose and Frederick Wilhelm led Benz to eventual success. The company established in 1883 expanded quickly and was even able to grant licenses for the construction of gas fuel engines. For Benz, it finally became possible to devote his time to the development of the car engine. 

What was Karl Benz's company?

Unlike Gottlieb Daimler who integrated his engine into the carriage. Karl Benz was aiming for the development of an entire vehicle and not installing the engine in the carriage. But to make a full vehicle. 

It featured wire wheels with a four-stroke engine of his own design and the Motorwagen worked as power was transmitted using two roller changes to the rear axial. Karl Benz finished his creation in 1885 and named it Benz's patent Motorwagen (motorcar).

In 1886 he was able to present his first Benz patent motor car to the public a three-wheeled vehicle powered by a four-stroke gasoline engine. From 1885 to 1887 three models with slight variations were produced. 

Bertha Benz first lady to drive a car

One woman thought it was ready for the world. His wife Bertha Benz. Without knowing Karl she took the car. She undertook the first long-distance drive in the world. At that time no one believed it was a car on the road.

Bertha Benz and her sons traveling on motorwagen

With the so-called model 3 Bertha Benz, in 1888 at a distance of 100 kilometers from Mannheim to the Pforzheim she experienced an adventurous drive of 65 miles without her husband but with her two sons Eugen and Richard but she only let Karl know after a happy and safe arrival of them.

The year was 1876, and Nicholas Otto had just invented the first Four-Stroke engine in the world. Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach also worked in Otto’s firm in management positions the two men who had known each other for 10 years were close friends.

After working with Nicholaus Otto on the invention of the Otto engine. Later, Maybach and Daimler aimed to develop an engine, that could run fast, they succeeded in the stationary engine for industrial purposes and became a sales hit. 

Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach

Gottlieb Daimler:

Born: 17 March 1834, Scorndorf, Germany

Died: 6 March 1900, Stuttgart, Germany

Invention: High-speed liquid petroleum engine (Reitwagen)

Wilhelm Maybach:

Born: 9 February 1846, Heilbron, Germany

Died: 29 December 1929 Stuttgart, Germany

Invention: world center for car production, motorboat, Grandfather clock engine

History of Gottlieb Daimler

The nostalgia of Schorndorf. A small picture book town in Germany, it is difficult to believe that history was made here on March 17, 1834, the town most inherent was born Gottlieb Daimler, his birthplace where his father ran Bakery and wine items still stand today at the same place.

Daimler junior was captivated by the world of Engineering which shaped his whole life. Starting as a workshop assistant he was hardworking towards his work and a dedicated student, but he was 48 years old before he could devote himself to his dream.

Why did Daimler and Maybach leave Otto's firm?

Maybach's new design also considerably reduce the cost and simplified the manufacturer. However, Maybach and Daimler wanted more they felt that the engine is too slow, too large, and too heavy. These two inventors shared a different version, they wanted to design a fast small light engine that can be installed anywhere.

The engine should motorize everything that has previously been done using animals or steam power in the future. They had a clear vision. So they left Ottos's firm.

What did Daimler and Maybach invent

After leaving Otto’s firm, he converted a greenhouse into a workshop. He started experimenting to his heart's content. He almost possessed a vision of creating a light high-speed Petroleum driven combustion engine. 

Daimler finally reached his goal in 1886, his 1.1 HorsePower combustion engine reaching 650 revolutions per minute(rpm) could function consistently without ignition problems.

How was the Grandfather clock engine invented?

Maybach and Daimler soon vision takes on concrete forms together they designed the first fast combustion engine and the first installable engine named Grandfather Clock. 

In 1886 the time had come when the first Daimler Motorcoach was ready to try. However, they remain unsuccessful. People until then were frightened of the catering vehicles, the new engine has to prove itself in fire tracks, exteriable balloons only then people will begin to accept the new mode of transport.

How was Daimler's Reitwagen invented?

This Inventive genius was awarded patent number 28022, added by William Maybach he installed the engine in the first-ever test carriage (Reitwagen), and the people of Schorndorf were outraged by the smell and clatter of the carriage but the two visionaries were unstoppable. But Daimler and Maybach installed a combustion engine in a standard carriage.

The motor car was born in it Daimler and Maybach were often seen riding in a prototype, whether it would be a train, ship, or airplane Daimler used his engine in all vehicles.

The car was born

In 1889, the first breakthrough in France the World Exhibition of Paris Willhelm Maybach’s four-wheel steel wheel Wagon was successful. Two French companies purchased a license and only a few years later 500 automobiles were already on the roads in France. However, in Germany, people remain reticent.

 Nicholaus August Otto (June 10, 1832 - 26 January 1891) was a German engineer who developed the Four-stroke Internal Combustion engine, which provided the first practical alternative to the steam engine power source. Nikolaus Otto built his first gasoline-powered engine in 1861. 

At that time gas was expensive. The engine was relatively inefficient and required a lot of water for cooling purposes. Yet Nicholaus Otto saw potential in this concept.

Three years later Nicholaus formed a partnership with German Industrialist Eugen Langen which gave this experiment a boost. They together developed an improvised engine that was selected in the Paris Expo of 1867 and won a gold medal for this invention.

What is the Otto cycle?

The Otto engine is a combustion engine and it is considered to be a technological milestone of the human sword, it was named after its inventor Nicholaus August otto. Otto engines are used in motorcycles, cars, and the automotive industry.

How Otto cycle was named?

In 1876, Nicholaus Otto build an Internal Combustion engine utilizing the four-stroke cycle. But unfortunately, the four-stroke cycle was patented in 1862 by the French engineer Alphonse Beau de Rochas. Since Otto was the first to build an engine based on this principle, it is commonly known as the Otto cycle.

About Otto engines

Because of its reliability, efficiency, and its relation to quietness, the Otto engine was an immediate success. More than 30,000 of them were built during the next 10 years. But in 1886 Otto's patent was officially canceled when Beau de Rochas' earlier patent was brought to light.

So now we know that the Otto cycle is the ideal cycle for internal combustion engines more specifically gasoline engines there is a need for us to better understand the four-stroke Otto engine.

How does the Otto cycle work?

The proposed Otto engine is composed of a piston that moves up and down in a cylinder. 

The highest point the Piston can reach is called the Top dead center, whereas the lowest point it can reach is called the Bottom dead center. 

The volume between both points is called engine displacement. The pistons connected to the crankshaft through the connecting rod the crankshaft transmit the rotational movement to the gearbox and consequently drive the wheel of a car or motorcycle.

Two camshafts are installed on the top of the cylinder which controls the intake and exhaust valve the camshaft is connected to the crankshaft through a belt more than not the crankshaft to the camshaft gear ratio is 2 to 1 which means that for every two revolutions of the crankshaft, the camshaft will rotate only once. 

How does the Four-Stroke engine works?

An Otto engine has a spark plug that uses an electric spark to ignite the fuel charge. A four-stroke otto engine is an internal combustion engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes.

The four stages of the otto cycle are as follows:

First stroke

The first stroke is called the intake stroke where the intake valve is opened by the rotating cam, and the air-fuel mixture is sucked into the cylinder.