Recently, I have realized another angle to the world we live in. I have realized that some things in this world are relatable and I would like to discuss about an area of interest for me.
I finally let the school environment some days ago and I would be at my father’s house for a while before I proceed to the next phase which is the compulsory national service year known as the NYSC (Nigerians can relate).
I decided to pay a friend of mine a visit today and the visit was really worth it. This friend of mine is a medical student and he loves bragging about his course of study. I wouldn’t mind his bragging on a normal day but I wouldn’t allow him rub mud on mine. My visit actually brought us to an agreement.
As some people know I am a graduate of mechanical engineering and I am very enthusiastic about the automobile, that’s why most of my blog posts are on that aspect of mechanical engineering. So, while discussing with my friend on this fateful day, he wanted to start his usual bragging but I was ready to defend my discipline. Fortunately for me, I knew a little more about how the automobile can be related to the human body and I tried explaining to him how an automobile engineer is a “doctor”. I am, very sure that the next time we see, he wouldn’t bother bragging about how a doctor is better than an engineer (at least I would have peace of mind!).
Today, I would be sharing the things I told him in order to “win”. I would be talking about how the car anatomy is similar to the human anatomy. Stay with me.
When I was younger, an uncle once told me that the airplane was invented as a result of inspiration gotten from the bird flight. He also said the submarine was invented to mimic the movement of fish in the water. Well, his claims may not be extremely true but you would agree with me that it still holds some water.
So here we have the automobile. I don’t think this post would be complete if I don’t talk briefly about the automobile (although I have done it in one or two of my past blog posts, I don’t mind doing it again). The automobile is an invention that has had a lot of impact on the human life for generations. It reaches into almost every (if not all) aspects of the society and steadily takes its place in our lives. The automobile is made of several components that come together to help man move from one place to another.
As an invention of man, the automobile parts are arranged into several systems (just like the human body!). The major systems in an automobile include the engine, the fuel system, the exhaust system, the electrical system, the chassis, the transmission, the lubrication system, the cooling system. All these systems work with each other to ensure comfort and safety of the user.
Now let’s get to business.
- THE ECU (ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT)
In the human body, the brain is the part that controls and coordinates the activities of the body. Talk about receiving stimuli and interpreting it, controlling the response of the organs to the stimuli or conditions (I believe we all know what the brain does).
In the automobile, the ECU is the man for that job. The ECU coordinates the functioning of most parts of the automobile. With the aid of sensors the ECU receives the electronic signals and prompts the actuators to adjust the operating parameter.
As an example, in this post, I talked about the ABS, the speed sensors relays the speed of each wheel to the ECU and when it senses an irregularity in the wheel speeds, the ABS is activated to correct the situation.
Well, would you agree with me that that’s quite what the brain does?
On to the next one!
- THE FUEL PUMP
On the left side of the chest, every human (except special ones) has the beautiful organ that pumps blood. Without this organ, I don’t think anything else can happen in the human body as the person would be D-E-A-D!
The fuel pump in the automobile does almost the exact same thing – it pumps fuel to the engine. Without the pump, the engine would not receive the fuel needed for its operation and the engine would also be D-E-A-D! Just that the death is not so much of a serious one as in the case of the human.
- THE AIR INTAKE MANIFOLD
One of the obvious features of the human face is the nose. The shape (and orientation) of which is quite significant to defining the features of a man. Well, that’s not really the main function of the nose. The nose is used to channel air into the body system all the way to the lungs. Without the air (oxygen to be precise) the body cannot function properly and if it is deprived for long, there would definitely be a breakdown.
As important as fuel is to the automobile, air is equally important as it is needed to aid the combustion of the fuel in the engine. That’s why the automobile engine is referred to as the internal combustion engine. The intake manifold is used to channel air and filter it for supply to the engine to aid combustion of the fuel. Quite differently, the air intake is not so obvious from the exterior of the car.
- THE FUEL TANK
In order to ensure life continuity, growth and healthy living, we eat! And when we consume food, the food goes straight to our stomach where it “waits for further processing”. Well, everyone knows where his stomach is.
In a parallel world – the world of automobile, the fuel tank is the stomach of the automobile. It is used to store the fuel where it is further transported to the engine for consumption. Quite explicit isn’t it?
- THE OIL AND FUEL FILTER
When we eat, we take in various things sometimes without minding the constituents of the food. When the food and fluids are ingested, the kidney functions to help separate or in simpler terms, filter the good stuff from the bad stuff. (I guess I did justice to that)
The fuel and lubrication oil in the automobile engine sometimes contain foreign stuff that would affect the engine badly and cause it to break down. The fuel and oil filters function to separate these foreign (solid) particles from the oil or fuel and thus prevent them from entering the engine.
- THE VEHICLE FRAME/ THE CHASSIS
The skeleton is the part of the body that forms the supporting structure for any organism and the human skeleton is quite unique. The spine however, is one of the most important part of the skeletal system as it supports man (and all other vertebrates) in almost all aspects of their movement.
The vehicle frame is just the same as the skeleton with the chassis representing the spine. The chassis functions as the framework on which the parts that aid the vehicle movement are mounted. The wheels, the shock absorbers, the transmission and the likes, are mounted on the chassis.
As an inclusion, the tyres relate to the feet, the ball joints are similar to the elbow and knee, the shock absorbers have similar functions as the cartilages. Is the automobile not a full package?
- THE EXHAUST
When we eat, our body doesn’t really need all the stuff and thus the undigested food is passed out as feaces. Also, the body processes the food and other things and releases the unwanted stuff as waste product in the form of sweat and urine.
On the flip side, recall the automobile runs on fuel which is burnt in the engine. When this fuel is burnt, there remains the products of the combustion. The automobile uses the exhaust system to “pass out the unwanted stuff (combustion products). Next time you visit the rest room, remember your car does that too.
- VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (VIN)
One of the unique things about the human is the finger print as it is unique for every human and no two people have the same finger prints (not even twins). No wonder the finger print is used ion technology these days as a means for identification and other thing.
Alternatively, your vehicle’s VIN is its fingerprint. It is the unique number that identifies the vehicle and shows details about it. The VIN of a vehicle is used to get the history of used cars to get details about the timeline of the vehicle. When next you want to buy a used vehicle, do not hesitate to check the history using the VIN number. There are sites where VIN number can be searched and the records recalled.
Other parts of the automobile that can be compared to the human anatomy include
- The windshield wipers which function like the eye lashes
- The engine oil and other fluids which relate to the blood and other body fluids
- The car horn which serves the purpose of speaking just like the mouth
…and a host of others.
CONCLUSION
For once in a long time, my friend agreed with me and accepted defeat and that was quite a joy for me.
The automobile was and still is one of the products of technology that have evolved with man and stuck with him through thick and thin. I was wondering if we could give the automobile the title of “man’s best friend!” but I think that’s taken.
Take a look at your automobile and see how that piece of metal coupled with technology looks just like you. Can we postulate a theory that man evolved from machines? I think the transformers have done enough.
Thank you for reading my blog, I am expectant of your comments, please let me know how you think your car looks like you.
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