Is the internal combustion engine a curse ?
Like all other creations of science, the internal combustion engine is not a complete blessing. The advantages of this invention are many and I would not agree with the view that the world would be a better place to live in if the internal combustion engine had never been invented. Incidentally, this invention has been indirectly responsible for the many problems that man confronts today; but its advantages more than compensate for these.
The first practical internal combustion engine was invented in 1860 by a French engineer and later inventors developed the carburetor in which vaporized gasoline could be substituted for illuminating gas as fuel. The most common form of internal combustion engine is that which is to be found in automobiles. The smoke emitted by an automobile contains a high quantity of carbon monoxide and soot. Carbon monoxide affects lungs causing death in extreme cases of exposure. But the little that comes out through an exhaust pipe may not kill. However, the exhaust from all the vehicles in a crowded city can pose health hazards. The air in the area becomes polluted. In cities like London and San Francisco, the soot combines with the fog to create smog. That part of the human anatomy most affected by such phenomena are the lungs. Most crowded cities in the world are introducing legislation to curb air pollution. Vehicles emitting black fumes because of faulty engines are forbidden on the streets Town planners separate industrial centers as far as they can. Smoke disposal units in factories are urged to cut down as far as possible the smoke hat is allowed into the air. Many road accidents are indirectly due to this invention.
The idea of igniting the fuel in the cylinder of an internal combustion engine by injecting into it compressed air has led to the invention of the diesel engine. Diesel engines are used in ships and they are employed to provide motive power for trains. They propel the trucks and help the building industry. They are also used for irrigation and drainage purposes.
Automobiles have quickened communications over land. We need the internal combustion engine. it is indispensable for mass production. Today, everything has to be mass produced to suit the needs of people. Specialization and the growth of crowded communities have made modern society a tightly-knit and efficient society. It would not be wrong to say that the internal combustion engine today sets the pace. What would have happened a the internal combustion engine had not been invented. Factories would still run on steam and would require coal.
There is a tendency in man to bemoan the inadequacies of our age and wish we were back in the past. The past, it must be remembered, also had its problems. As we progress, our new developments are bound to bring their attendant advantages and disadvantages. What we have to do is to accept these disadvantages as inevitable and find a way to surmount them. If pollution becomes a menace, we have to combat it.
