Humans use rafts as a tool for transportation, hunting and fishing, which originated at least in the Stone Age. 1956 The ancient wooden paddle unearthed by China in Zhejiang was identified as a Neolithic relic 4,000 years ago. Explain that the history of rafts can be traced back to prehistoric times.
2. The age of navigation
According to records, there were sailboats in ancient Egypt as far back as 4000 BC. The history of China's navigation can also be traced back to BC. 15th century to19th century is the heyday of sailing development. /kloc-at the beginning of the 5th century, Zheng He, a China navigator, sailed to East Africa./kloc-at the end of the 5th century, C. Columbus discovered the New World, and their fleets were all made up of sailboats. In the history of sailing development, Mediterranean coastal areas, northern and western Europe and China have made great contributions. /kloc-in the middle of the 0/9th century, American sailing was the last climax in the history of sailing development. Sailing boats in different areas have their own characteristics in structure, form and sails.
3, the steam engine ship era
/kloc-after the invention of the steam engine in the 0/8th century, many people tried to use the steam engine on ships. 1807, American R. Fulton sailed successfully on the Hudson River for the first time by using a steam engine to drive paddle wheels installed on both sides of the clermont. From then on, mechanical force began to replace natural force, and the development of ships entered a new stage.
4. The era of diesel ships
After the diesel ship came out, it developed rapidly and gradually replaced the steam ship. After World War II, the rapid economic recovery and development of industrialized countries, the unprecedented prosperity of international trade, and the massive development of oil in the Middle East and other places have promoted the rapid development of transport ships. Compared with 1948 in 1982, the number of ships increased by 1.6 times, and the gross tonnage increased by 4.3 times (see world merchant fleet).
Ships are usually propelled by diesel engines. During the Second World War, in order to meet the wartime transportation needs, the 26 10 Freedom Ship (a 10,000-ton ordinary cargo ship using oil-fired boilers and steam engines) built by the United States was the last batch of ocean-going reciprocating steam engines. In order to improve the economic benefit of ship transportation, the trend of ship transportation is large-scale, specialization, high-speed, automation and internal combustion engine.
Extended data
Marine internal combustion engine in diesel engine era;
Ship internal combustion means that ships generally use diesel engines as the main engine. Compared with steam engines, diesel engines have the advantages of high thermal efficiency, low fuel consumption and small floor space. Since 19 1 1 built the first diesel marine ship, there have been more and more cargo ships and passenger ships with diesel engines as the main engine. But by the end of World War II, steam engines were still the majority of the world's merchant fleet. After the war, due to the progress of supercharging technology, the single power of low-speed and high-power diesel engines has been continuously improved, reaching a maximum of 50 thousand horsepower.
Large high-speed ships that used to have to be equipped with steam turbines can also use diesel engines. On the other hand, the adaptability of diesel engine to burning inferior oil is also improving, which has an advantage in economy. For ro-ro ships, container ships and car ferries with limited engine room space, a medium-speed diesel engine with small volume and light weight can be selected to drive the propeller through the gearbox. Diesel engines with low fuel consumption and different power that can burn inferior oil now occupy almost all the market of marine engines. Therefore, the development stage of transport ships after World War II is called the era of diesel ships.
China Navigation Society-Development History of Transport Ships