query: What kind of gas did the first car use?
passage: History of the automobile
The four-stroke petrol (gasoline) internal combustion engine that still constitutes the most prevalent form of modern automotive propulsion was patented by Nikolaus Otto. The similar four-stroke diesel engine was invented by Rudolf Diesel. The hydrogen fuel cell, one of the technologies hailed as a replacement for gasoline as an energy source for cars, was discovered in principle by Christian Friedrich Schönbein in 1838. The battery electric car owes its beginnings to Ányos Jedlik, one of the inventors of the electric motor, and Gaston Planté, who invented the lead–acid battery in 1859.
passage: Science and invention in Birmingham
1900: John Wright invents a much-improved gas fire, which uses fretted columns of fireclay, rather than tufted asbestos, to radiate the heat. The Wright design of gas fire heating endures throughout the century, however, electric fires improve at a similar pace.
1902: The first caliper-type automobile disc brake is patented by Frederick William Lanchester in his Birmingham factory and used successfully on Lanchester cars. However, the limited choice of metals in this period means that he has to use copper as the braking medium acting on the disc. The poor state of the roads at this time — no more than dusty, rough tracks — means that the copper wears quickly, making the disc brake system non-viable. It is not until 1929, in the same city that manufacturers Girling and New Hudson further develop disc brakes, which are very successful on racing cars from the early 1950s to the 1970s. Girling brakes have the quirk of using natural rubber (later nitrile) seals. Girling still manufacture disc brakes in Birmingham today.