Early pyreolophores
-This experiment
continues, gets continuing support from French Republic government
-as are de Rivaz's experiments
-but they do not compete all too well with steam engines and in general v. difficult to cool
-though they do get around high price of lycopodium power with experiments with coal dust and oil
-nevertheless, pyreolophores continue to get worked on, primarily used on ships
-Carnot cycle in 1824 sees pyreolophores improved dramatically in their wake
-however, extreme difficulties in cooling mean experiments with putting them on trains do not really work
-use in stationary purposes such as printing and water pumping fails
-and issues in reliability exist
Autophores
-birth of the modern autophore in 1874
-with rise of successful two-stroke engine in 1864
-during French Wars > Fourth French War (1880-4) , France in particular uses autophores for supply lines
-including cuirassephores, quickly shortened to cuirasses, which are useful in cutting through barbed wires
-however, they are very defective in this period
-and steam versions often blow up
-sees fair maturation as tool of war by 1890s in French Wars > Fifth French War (1892-5)
-by which time it uses chaintracks instead of pedrail wheels, which are better for that purpose
-mass production begins in the US in 1880s
-in 1890s, France develops them for purposes of war with assembly lines
-which postwar turns into Mercier brand
-auto clubs emerge across countries in 1900-1910 period calling for new roads for autos
-Germany needing to unify its nation despite having a bunch of rail gauges invests in autostrassen in 1900-1920 period
-with outdated roads long-term that need to be renovated later
-France having very robust rail network on the other hand takes much longer to adopt new roads, takes lengthy road-building campaign in 1920s
-all state-owned
-with roads reserved for streetcars
-following French Wars > Sixth French War (1937-41) , with massive surge of autos for war, the factories get put on peaceful means postwar and bombed-out highways in both France and Germany renovated for modernity
-note that this isn't quite as much as OTL US, populations are denser and autos are comparatively more expensive
-comes to an end in 50s and 60s with oil shocks, results in massively declining car use
-results in massive reinvestment in railroad modernization, streetcars with designated lanes
-and also French govt in particular institutes tolls on its highway system, declining car use further
Planophores
Planophores
-use of liquid-propelled rockets to do humanity's first flight in 1884
-wartime experiment by French govt
-this prototype called autobolide, from auto and bolide (from ancient greek bolis)
-but known today as rocket planes
-use in aerial bombing during French Wars > Fifth French War (1892-5)
-rocket planes with rockets attached, aeronauts drop bombs from it
-postwar, with plans for them leaked, France engages in grandstanding by giving out its patent for free as a gift to the world in a spirit of republicanism
-aerial frames
-successful experiment in flying across English Channel in 1903
-The golden age of rocket planes only starts to come to an end in the 1920s, as advantages of planophores become clear and they exceed their achievements - except in speed (and they're still pretty fast)
-in 1890s, experiments with heavier-than-air flight achieve success, with use of new modern liquid-fuelled rockets (Rocketry > ^ead725 ); however, proves less than successful in taking them further
-experiments with using pyreolophores, inspired by uses of gyrophores thus slowly increase
-in 1914, Alexandru Aldea develops what he calls a planophore which is able to go further than even the best rocket-powered flyers, and can be stopped and thrust can be throttled
-engine made of alumium, which has only recently been made cheaply thanks to electric decomposition
-w/o Faraday, electrolysis is behind OTL
-in competition with rocket flyers it wins by 1920s, safety helps after various rocket flyer accidents
-planophores thus become commonplace and dominate bolide space
-with investigation in turbines rather delayed due to their association with "finished" technology of rocket
-also since prototypical engines do badly in tests - partially, metallurgy do not do well enough and they melt
-and partially because double-decker planes do not work well with them
-talk rises of making bolide that crosses sound barrier in 1920s
-clear requires rockets to do this
-and clear it's extremely dangerous, numerous attempts end up in failure
-but finally, in 1928, French attempt to cross sound barrier succeeds in lightweight bolide shaped like a bullet
-using alumium, [ramjet]
-in 1960s, rise of turbine planes
-prominence of rocket planes diminish exploration in the topic since they make it seem like a throwback
-first workable invented in China with new workable designs diminishing issues with knocking
-in China because same western orthodoxy not held to, resulting in more experimentalism
-despite issues as it seems to many a return to the rocket bolide era
-initially with militaries, but flows to civilian airway companies quickly
-kills off flying boats, forces many countries to construct airstrips instead of marine airports
-note that bolides do not unseat bullet lines (Railways > High-speed rail ) because of fewer airports which are established better, and so small-range bolides less influential
-by 1980s, supersonic bolides on commercial market, and w/ no equiv of oil embargo they become extremely popular internationally
Terminology
-Pyreolophore - internal combustion engine
-Velophore - motorcycle
-Autophore - car
-Auto for short
-Cuirasse - tank