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Internal combustion engines date back to between the 10th and 13th centuries, when the first rocket engines were invented in China. Following the first commercial steam engine (a type of external combustion engine) by Thomas Savery in 1698, various efforts were made during the 18th century to develop equivalent internal combustion engines.
Newcomen's atmospheric steam engine. The first practical mechanical steam engine was introduced by Thomas Newcomen in 1712. Newcomen apparently conceived his machine independently of Savery, but as the latter had taken out a wide-ranging patent, Newcomen and his associates were obliged to come to an arrangement with him, marketing the engine until 1733 under a joint patent. [2]
1860 – Lenoir 2 cycle engine [8] 1872 – Brayton Engine; 1877 – Nicolaus Otto patents a four-stroke internal combustion engine (U.S. patent 194,047). [9] 1882 – James Atkinson invents the Atkinson cycle engine, now common in some hybrid vehicles. 1885 – Gottlieb Daimler patents the first supercharger.
Further improvements in engine efficiency were attempted at higher compression ratios, but early attempts were blocked by the premature explosion of fuel, known as knocking. In 1891, the Shukhov cracking process became the world's first commercial method to break down heavier hydrocarbons in crude oil to increase the percentage of lighter ...
Over 100 Newcomen engines were installed around England by 1735, and it is estimated that as many as 2,000 were in operation by 1800 (including Watt versions). John Smeaton made numerous improvements to the Newcomen engine, notably the seals, and by improving these was able to almost triple their efficiency. He also preferred to use wheels ...
Developed for Charles Porter by Charles Richard, the steam engine indicator traces on paper the pressure in the cylinder throughout the cycle, which can be used to spot various problems and to optimize efficiency. [14] [19] Earlier versions of the steam engine indicator were in use by 1851, though relatively unknown. [20]
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There is a common legend that in 1713 a cock boy named Humphrey Potter, [13] whose duty it was to open and shut the valves of an engine he attended, made the engine self-acting by causing the beam itself to open and close the valves by suitable cords and catches [14] (known as the "potter cord"); [15] however the plug tree device (the first ...