Rudolf Diesel
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- This article is about Rudolf Diesel, the German inventor. For other uses of the word Diesel, see Diesel (disambiguation)
| Rudolf Diesel | |
|---|---|
| Image:Diesel 1883.jpg | |
| Born | March 18 1858 Image:Flag of France.svg Paris, France |
| Died | September 30 1913 the English Channel |
| Nationality | Image:Flag of Germany.svg German |
| Occupation | Inventor |
| Religious stance | Christian |
Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel [ˈʁuː.dɔlf ˈkʁɪs.tjan kaʁl ˈdiː.zəl] (March 18, 1858 – September 30, 1913) was a German inventor and mechanical engineer, famous for the invention of the diesel engine.
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[edit] Early life
Diesel's parents were Bavarian immigrants living in France according to the book by John F. Moon. Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel was born in Paris, France in 1858. Rudolf Diesel spent his childhook in France. The Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870. Diesel's family left France for London. Subsequently, Rudolf Diesel moved back to Germany and eventually became a German citizen. Rudolf Diesel was educated at Munich Polytechnic. One of his professors was Carl von Linde. After graduation he was employed as a refrigerator engineer. However, his true love lay in engine design. Rudolf Diesel designed many heat engines, including a solar-powered air engine.
After graduation, he had success for two years as a machinist and designer in Winterthur, Switzerland. After this, he returned to Paris, where he was employed as a refrigeration engineer at Linde Refrigeration Enterprises. His early research into fuel efficiency led him to build a "steam engine" using ammonia vapour. Under test, this exploded with almost fatal consequences. It resulted in many months in the hospital, and a great deal of ill health and eyesight problems in later life.
In Paris he became a connoisseur of the fine arts and an internationalist. He married in 1883, and had three children. He set up his first shop-laboratory in 1885 in Paris, and began full-time work on his engine. This continued when he moved to Berlin, working again for Linde Enterprises.
He decided that he didnt like Karl Benz's engine so he made his own engines. He tried to design an engine based on the Carnot Cycle. However, he gave up on this and tried to develop his own approach. Eventually he designed his own engine and obtained patent for his design. In his engine, fuel was injected at the end of compression and the fuel was ignited by the high temperature resulting from compression. In 1893, he published a short paper with the title "Theory and design of a rational thermal engine to replace the steam engine and the combustion engines known today" (English translation). He managed to build a working engine according to his theory and design. His engine is now known as the diesel engine. Heinrich von Buz (1833-1918) was director (MAN AG) of an engine factory in Augsburg, Germany. From 1893-1897, he gave Rudolf Diesel the opportunity to test and develop his ideas according to the book by John F. Moon.
In 1913, he took a ship (SS Dresden) to cross the English Channel. Afterwards, he was found dead in the water because of an unknown reason which might be suicide. However, his body was thrown back into water. Rudolf Diesel has no known grave. Just a simple carved piece of rock in the Rudolf Diesel Memorial Grove in Augsburg, Germany and the magnificient musemum in the M.A.N. (MAN AG) factory in the same town, exist as a direct memorial to one the finest and saddest engineers the world has known according to the book by John F. Moon.
[edit] Legacy
After Diesel's death, the diesel engine underwent much development, and became a very important replacement for the steam engine in many applications. Because the diesel engine required a heavier, more robust construction than a gasoline engine, it was not widely used in aviation (but see aircraft diesel engine). However, the diesel engine became widespread in many other applications, such as stationary engines, submarines, ships, and much later, locomotives, and in modern times automobiles. Recently, diesel engines have been designed, certified and flown that have overcome the weight penalty in light aircraft. These engines are designed to run on either Diesel fuel or more commonly jet fuel.
The diesel engine has the benefit of running on cheaper fuels; Diesel was especially interested in using coal dust or vegetable oil as fuel. Although these fuels were not immediately popular, recent rises in fuel prices coupled with concerns about oil reserves have led to more widespread use of vegetable oil and biodiesel. The primary source of fuel remains what became known as Diesel fuel, an oil byproduct derived from refinement of petroleum.
[edit] Patent dispute with Herbert Akroyd Stuart
Details of the claim that a patent submitted by Herbert Akroyd Stuart has pre−dated that of Rudolf Diesel can be found under the name of that inventor.
[edit] References
- Diesel's Engine: From Conception To 1918. C. Lyle Cummins, Jr. Carnot Press, 1993.
- Diesel, The Man and the Engine. Morton Grosser. New le der Erstausgabe von 1913 mit einer technik-historischen Einführung. Moers: Steiger Verlag, 1984.
- Rudolf Diesel and the Diesel Engine, by John F. Moon, Piory Press, London, 1974.
[edit] External links
- Biography from About.com
- Rudolf Diesel's Engine from the American Chemical Society website
- Biography from Hempcar.org
- U.S. Patent 0,542,846
- U.S. Patent 0,608,845af:Rudolf Diesel
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Categories: Pages needing expert attention | Uncategorized pages needing expert attention | German engineers | Cause of death disputed | Deaths by drowning | Inventors who committed suicide | German inventors | Engines | Mechanical engineers | National Inventors Hall of Fame | People associated with the internal combustion engine | 1858 births | 1913 deaths
