OF THE GROWTH OF THE STEAM-ENGINE. BY ROBERT H. THURSTON, A.M., C.E. PROFESSOR OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING IN THE STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECH- DEUTSCHE INGENIEURE, OESTERREICHISCHER INGENIEUR- UND ARCHITEKTEN-VEREIN; ASSOCIATE BRITISH IN- FOURTH EDITION. LONDON: KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, & CO., 1 PATERNOSTER SQUARE. UNI! PREFACE. THIS little work embodies the more generally interesting portions of lectures first written for delivery at the STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, in the winter of 1871 -'72, to a mixed audience, composed, however, principally of engineers by profession, and of mechanics; it comprises, also, some material prepared for other occasions. The author has consulted a large number of authors in the course of his work, and is very greatly indebted to several earlier writers. Of these, Stuart' is entitled to particular mention. His "History" is the earliest deserving the name; and his "Anecdotes" are of exceedingly great interest and of equally great historical value. The artistic and curious little sketches at the end of each chapter are from John Stuart, as are, usually, the drawings of the older forms of engines. Greenwood's excellent translation of Hero, as edited by Bennett Woodcroft (London, 1851), can be consulted by those who are curious to learn more of that interesting old Greek treatise. "History of the Steam-Engine," London, 1824. Steam-Engine," London, 1829. "Anecdotes of the 11596 LIBR Some valuable matter is from Farey,' who gives the most extended account extant of Newcomen's and Watt's engines. The reader who desires to know more of the life of Worcester, and more of the details of his work, will find in the very complete biography of Dircks' all that he can wish to learn of that great but unfortunate inventor. Smiles's admirably written biography of Watt' gives an equally interesting and complete account of the great mechanic and of his partners; and Muirhead* furnishes us with a still more detailed account of his inventions. For an account of the life and work of John Elder, the great pioneer in the introduction of the now standard double-cylinder, or "compound," engine, the student can consult a little biographical sketch by Prof. Rankine, published soon after the death of Elder. The only published sketch of the history of the science of thermo-dynamics, which plays so large a part of the philosophy of the steam-engine, is that of Prof. Tait-a most valuable monograph. The section of this work which treats of the causes and the extent of losses of heat in the steam-engine, and of the methods available, or possibly available, to reduce the amount of this now immense waste of heat, is, in some 1 "Treatise on the Steam-Engine," London, 1827. 2 "Life, Times, and Scientific Labours of the Second Marquis of Worcester," London, 1865. 3 "Lives of Boulton and Watt," London, 1865. 4 "Life of James Watt," D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1859. "Mechanical Inventions of James Watt,” London, 1854. respects, quite new, and is equally novel in the method of its presentation. It remained a long time unpublished,' and is only introduced here as furnishing so complete a finish to that part of the work as, in the opinion of the author, to justify its presentation. Among other works which have also been of great assistance to the author, and will be found, perhaps, equally valuable to some of the readers of this little treatise, are several to which reference has not been made in the text. Among them the following are deserving of special mention: McCulloch's "Mechanical Theory of Heat," a short but thoroughly logical and exact mathematical treatise; Cotterill's "Steam-Engine considered as a Heat-Engine," a more extended work on the same subject, which will be found an excellent companion to, and commentary upon, Rankine's "Steam-Engine and Prime Movers," which is the standard treatise on the theory of the steam-engine. The works of Bourne, of Holley, of Clarke, and of Forney, are standards on the practical every-day matters of steam-engine construction and management. The author is almost daily in receipt of inquiries which indicate that the above remarks will be of service to very many young engineers, as well as to many to whom the steam-engine is of interest from a more purely scientific point of view. "On a New Type of Steam-Engine," etc. A paper read before the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1877. Journal of the Franklin Institute, 1877. |