State of the art in 1906

[Fordwright]

Most of the mechanical innovations that we see today had been introduced by 1906, albeit often in primitive form. Carburation, wet-cell batteries, roller-bearings, to name a scant few. But reliability had largely not been achieved. Having a mechanic on-board was still fairly necessary in many cases.

I believe Henry Ford changed that with his early automobiles, which featured reliability, culminating with the Model T.
I may be off, but not too far off I hope.

[Rob]

Greg,
I agree with your assessment. Of course, we (people) frequently think the period we live in (context) has achieved close to all there is to achieve.

I’ve recently been looking into the earliest Fords, the 8 then 10 hp Model A, and all the “signatures” of the future Model T were there. Lightness, simplicity, horsepower to weight ratio, and least expensive in its class.

Thank you for your post,
Rob

August, 1904:

[Norman Kling]

I thought during the 1960's that "everything which was ever to be invented, was already! I thought the electric calculator was about everything there would be. Now AI has me scared! Soon people will be obsolete. Reminds me of an episode of the "Twilight Zone".
Norm

[TXGOAT2]

We'd better keep an eye on "security". It could become very pervasive, and the law could very well become whatever the Dear Leader of the moment decided it ought to be. With a million soul-less electronic "political officers" reporting to Authority 24/7, Dear Leader wouldn't need a large police force to keep "order". Anyone stepping out of line could be immediately apprehended and corrected. Imagine what Hitler would have done with today's tech.

[John kuehn]

We have a tracking device already and it’s called an IPhone. And we’re not the ones doing the tracking. And we haven’t seen anything yet.

[Loftfield]

Come on, there were tracking devices in 1906, and a lot earlier than that. They were then called wives and mothers: "Where have you been? What have you been up to? What do you mean you bought another car?"

[TWrenn]

I thought during the 1960's that "everything which was ever to be invented, was already! I thought the electric calculator was about everything there would be. Now AI has me scared! Soon people will be obsolete. Reminds me of an episode of the "Twilight Zone".
Norm

Like I've already said months ago regarding AI...just saw a clip from some Asian "professional tech guy" who literally used the word "robot" as in describing what humans will become with this, he tried to stay "on the fence" but could clearly see he was promoting "the good" of this frightening technology. Twilight Zone, and Stepford Wives, here we come.

[Oldav8tor]

I read somewhere that in the late 1800's there was a proposal to close the patent office because everything that would ever be invented had already been made. As usual, our ability to predict the future truly sucks. I use many things routinely that my young self would have argued was impossible. To be fair, back then it was but today? All bets are off.

On a side note, I wish I'd bought Apple stock when everyone said the company was going under....(insert dope smack here.)

[TXGOAT2]

A stable and well-funded global tyranny will require continual, in-depth monitoring and management of each individual unit of the proletariat.

[TrentB]

And sometimes solved problems reemerge. One of the issues that has been cited for the reluctance today’s drivers to purchase an electric vehicle is “range anxiety”, the fear of running the battery down before reaching a charging station, and being stranded on the side of the road. Owners of pre-T Fords, with the notable exception of the Model K, also suffered from range anxiety. The ignition system on early two and four cylinder Fords were powered by batteries. The 1906 Model N Fords were designed to have their ignition systems powered by 12 large dry cell batteries in two banks of six. The idea was that if one bank’s amperage dropped to the point where the ignition began to misfire, then the driver could flip the switch on the coil box and change over to the other bank of dry cells, and continue driving while giving the first bank of batteries a rest.

Nevertheless, the range of a Model N was limited more by its dry cell batteries than its supply of gasoline. As one early Ford employee, James Purdie described it, on any given day you would be driving and see cars stranded along the side of the road: “The batteries were dead, the batteries were dead. That was the rub.” An essential piece of equipment for an early Ford owner was a pocket amp meter so they could measure the strength of their batteries before under taking a lengthy journey. The Model R and S Fords had better ranges because they came with rechargeable wet cell batteries, at extra expense. Still, owners had to remember to take the batteries out and recharge them on a regular basis, otherwise they too ran the risk of being stranded along the side of the road. This was also true of owners of cars made by other manufacturers. Unless their cars were powered by a magneto, which was considered to be a delicate and expensive mechanism, then they too relied on batteries to power their car’s ignition system.

Ford’s solution that eliminated the reliance on batteries for ignition (other than for starting) was the Model Ts flywheel magneto. The flywheel magneto was a reliable, basically maintenance-free source of electricity for the ignition system, and after 1915 the head lighting system as well. As long as the engine was running the car had a reliable source of electrical power.

Respectfully Submitted,

Trent Boggess