Cars & Other Vehicles, P-5-SIR
Automobile, byname auto, also called motorcar or car, a usually four-wheeled vehicle designed primarily for passenger transportation and commonly propelled by an internal-combustion engine using a volatile fuel.
Cars & Other Vehicles Encyclopedia Articles By Title
P-51, a single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft originally designed and produced by North American Aviation......
Pacific Scandal, (1872–73), charges of corruption against Canadian prime minister Sir John A. Macdonald in awarding......
pack animal, any domesticated animal that is used to carry freight, goods, or supplies. The ass or donkey is the......
paddle wheel, method of ship propulsion that was once widely employed but is now almost entirely superseded by......
pageant wagon, wheeled vehicle used in the processional staging of medieval vernacular cycle plays. Processional......
Pan American World Airways, Inc., former American airline that was founded in 1927 and, up until the final two......
parachute, device that slows the vertical descent of a body falling through the atmosphere or the velocity of a......
pavement, in civil engineering, durable surfacing of a road, airstrip, or similar area. The primary function of......
Was there a “back door” to World War II, as some revisionist historians have asserted? According to this view,......
Pearl Harbor attack, (December 7, 1941), surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu......
pedicab, three-wheeled vehicle with a hooded carriage body balanced on two of the wheels. The body may be placed......
Pegasus, any of a series of three U.S. scientific satellites launched in 1965. These spacecraft were named for......
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, largest of the trunkline railroads that connected the East Coast of the United States......
phaeton, open, four-wheeled, doorless carriage, popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. It contained one or two......
Phobos-Grunt, Russian spacecraft that was designed to land on the Martian moon Phobos and bring some of its soil......
Pilcher Hawk, monoplane glider designed, built, and first flown by the English aviator Percy Sinclair Pilcher in......
Pioneer, any of the first series of unmanned U.S. space probes designed chiefly for interplanetary study. Whereas......
pirogue, in its simplest form, a dugout made from one log, but also a number of more elaborately fashioned boats,......
Plimsoll line, internationally agreed-upon reference line marking the loading limit for cargo ships. At the instigation......
Popemobile, motorized vehicle used to transport the pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, when he greets......
Popular Mechanics, American print and online magazine that publishes articles on home improvement, automobile maintenance,......
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, self-supporting corporate agency formed in 1921 by agreement between......
portolan chart, navigational chart of the European Middle Ages (1300–1500). The earliest dated navigational chart......
post chaise, four-wheeled, closed carriage, containing one seat for two or three passengers, that was popular in......
Potemkin (Russian battleship), Russian battleship built for the Black Sea fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. It......
power steering, system to aid the steering of an automobile by use of a hydraulic device (driven from the engine)......
prairie schooner, 19th-century covered wagon popularly used by emigrants traveling to the American West. In particular,......
prau, fast, sharp-ended rowing or sailing boat that is widely used in Malayan waters and was once popular with......
promenade, place for strolling, where persons walk (or, in the past, ride) at leisure for exercise, display, or......
propeller, device with a central hub and radiating blades placed so that each forms part of a helical (spiral)......
Proton, Russian launch vehicle used for both government and commercial payloads. Since 1965 the Proton launch vehicle......
PSA Group, major French automotive manufacturer and holding company that was formed from the merger of Peugeot......
Psyche, name of both a metal-rich asteroid and the U.S. spacecraft that is scheduled to orbit it beginning in August......
Pénaud Planophore, model aircraft designed, built, and first flown by the French aeronautical pioneer Alphonse......
Qantas, Australian airline, the oldest in the English-speaking world, founded in 1920 as Queensland and Northern......
Queen Anne’s Revenge, French vessel briefly captained by the pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. Blackbeard......
Queen Elizabeth, any one of three ships belonging to the British Cunard Line that successfully crossed over from......
Queen Mary, British passenger ship of the Cunard Line that was the epitome of the transatlantic ocean liner. The......
R-7, Soviet/Russian missile and launch vehicle. Under the direction of the rocket pioneer Sergey Korolyov, the......
R.E.P. No. 2, monoplane designed, built, and first flown by the French aviator Robert Esnault-Pelterie in 1908.......
radio direction finder, radio receiver and directional antenna system used to determine the direction of the source......
radio range, in aerial navigation, a system of radio transmitting stations, each of which transmits a signal that......
raft, simplest type of watercraft, made up of logs or planks fastened together to form a floating platform. The......
railroad, mode of land transportation in which flange-wheeled vehicles move over two parallel steel rails, or tracks,......
- Introduction
- Passenger Cars, Safety, Comfort
- Passenger Cars, Daytime Travel, Comfort
- Track, Locomotives, History
- Track Maintenance, Repair, Safety
- Operations, Control, Infrastructure
- Signaling, Safety, Automation
- Interlocking, Routing, Signaling
- Intermodal, Freight, Vehicles
- History, Development, Impact
- Liverpool, Manchester, Innovation
- Early American, Steam Engines, Expansion
- Boston, Expansion, Industry
- Transcontinental, Expansion, Industry
- Canadian, Transcontinental, Expansion
- Track, Locomotives, Infrastructure
- High Speed, Passenger, Lines
- South Korea, Taiwan, China
railroad coupling, device by which a locomotive is connected to a following car and by which succeeding cars in......
railroad signal, device designed to inform train-operating crews of conditions of the track ahead and to relay......
national railways, rail transportation services owned and operated by national governments. U.S. railways are privately......
ram, appurtenance fixed to the front end of a fighting vessel and designed to damage enemy ships when struck by......
Ranger, any of a series of nine unmanned probes launched from 1961 to 1965 by the United States National Aeronautics......
rapid transit, system of railways, usually electric, that is used for local transit in a metropolitan area. A rapid......
REA Express, Inc., American company that at one time operated the nation’s largest ground and air express services,......
Reading Company, American railroad in Pennsylvania, New York, and Delaware, absorbed into the Consolidated Rail......
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), U.S. government agency established by Congress on January 22, 1932, to......
Renault, major French automobile and motor carrier manufacturer. Controlled by the French government, it is the......
rickshaw, (from Japanese: “human-powered vehicle”), two-wheeled vehicle with a doorless, chairlike body and a collapsible......
rigging, the sails, masts, booms, yards, stays, and lines of a sailing vessel, or its cordage only. The basis of......
road, traveled way on which people, animals, or wheeled vehicles move. In modern usage the term road describes......
rules of the road at sea, internationally agreed-on traffic regulations for ocean waters. They were most recently......
rockaway, a light, low, four-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage popular in the United States after its introduction......
rocket, any of a type of jet-propulsion device carrying either solid or liquid propellants that provide both the......
Rolls-Royce PLC, major British manufacturer of aircraft engines, marine propulsion systems, and power-generation......
Roman road system, outstanding transportation network of the ancient Mediterranean world, extending from Britain......
Rosetta, European Space Agency spacecraft that carried Philae, the first space probe to land on a comet. Rosetta......
rowboat, boat propelled by oars alone, probably the most common type of boat found around waterfronts and at most......
rudder, part of the steering apparatus of a boat or ship that is fastened outside the hull, usually at the stern.......
Saab AB, Swedish high-technology company involved in defense, aviation, and aerospace. Its products include airplanes,......
safety glass, type of glass that, when struck, bulges or breaks into tiny, relatively harmless fragments rather......
sail, an extent of fabric (such as canvas) by means of which wind is used to propel a ship through water. The first......
Saint Louis-San Francisco Railway Company, railroad with lines in nine southern and central U.S. states before......
Salyut, any of a series of Soviet space stations (of two designs), launched between 1971 and 1982, that served......
sampan, most common type of small boat in Chinese waters, constructed in a variety of designs. Some have sharp......
Santos-Dumont No. 14-bis, airplane designed, built, and first flown by the Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont......
satellite observatory, Earth-orbiting spacecraft that allows celestial objects and radiation to be studied from......
Saturn, in space exploration, any of a series of large two- and three-stage vehicles for launching spacecraft,......
Savannah, either of two historic U.S. ships, each representing a landmark in navigation. In 1819 the first Savannah,......
Scandinavian Airlines System, major international air travel company, formed by three national Scandinavian air......
Scharnhorst, German battle cruiser completed in 1939. It did great damage to Allied shipping in northern waters......
schooner, a sailing ship rigged with fore-and-aft sails on its two or more masts. To the foremast there may also......
Science and Technology Satellite (STSAT), any of a series of South Korean satellites, of which STSAT-2C was the......
Sealab, experimental program sponsored by the U.S. Navy intended to determine whether humans could live and work......
seaplane, any of a class of aircraft that can land, float, and take off on water. Seaplanes with boatlike hulls......
Seawolf-class submarine, class of three U.S. nuclear-powered attack submarines known for their speed and advanced......
sedan, portable, enclosed chair mounted on horizontally placed parallel poles and carried by men or animals. In......
sextant, instrument for determining the angle between the horizon and a celestial body such as the Sun, the Moon,......
Shavit, Israeli launch vehicle. Shavit (Hebrew for “comet”) is a small three-stage solid-fueled rocket, first launched......
Shenzhou, any of a series of Chinese spacecraft, the fifth flight of which carried the first Chinese astronaut......
Shinkansen, pioneer high-speed passenger rail system of Japan, with lines on the islands of Honshu, Kyushu, and......
ship, any large floating vessel capable of crossing open waters, as opposed to a boat, which is generally a smaller......
- Introduction
- Dynamic Stability, Buoyancy, Trim
- Maneuvering, Directional Control, Navigation
- Structural Integrity
- Diesel Engines, Maritime, Propulsion
- Cargo, Cruise, Warship
- Ferries, Passenger Transport, Maritime Travel
- Container, Cargo, Freight
- Navigation, Propulsion, Maintenance
- Regulation, Safety, Design
- Crewing, Maritime, Navigation
- Cargo Handling, Loading, Unloading
- Maritime, Navigation, Exploration
- Sails, Rigging, Hull
- Navigation, Seafaring, Exploration
- Navigation, Sailing, Design
- 19th Century, Maritime, Trade
- Steamboats, Navigation, Technology
- Steam Navigation, Trade, Industry
- Atlantic, Ferry, Transport
- Passenger Liners, 20th Century
- Cargo, Freight, Transport
ship construction, complex of activities concerned with the design and fabrication of all marine vehicles. Ship......
ship of the line, type of sailing warship that formed the backbone of the Western world’s great navies from the......
shipping, the transporting of goods and passengers by water. Described as the backbone of global trade, maritime......
shipping route, any of the lines of travel followed by merchant sea vessels. Many of the most important modern......
shipyard, shore establishment for building and repairing ships. The shipbuilding facilities of the ancient and......
ship’s bell, bell used as early as the 15th century to sound the time on board ship by striking each half hour......
shock absorber, device for controlling unwanted motion of a spring-mounted vehicle. On an automobile, for example,......
showboat, floating theatre that tied up at towns along the waterways of the southern and midwestern United States,......
Silver Disc machine, image of an aircraft engraved on a medallion by Sir George Cayley in 1799 with his initials......
Sinclair C5, tiny, electrically powered tricycle-like vehicle invented by British entrepreneur Clive Sinclair in......
siren, noisemaking device producing a piercing sound of definite pitch. Used as a warning signal, it was invented......
Sirius, first ship to cross the Atlantic entirely under steam. Built originally for service in the Irish Sea, the......