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Leaders & Success Friday, January 4, 2002
Diesel's Mind Moved Industry BY NANCY GONDO
FOR INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
For a quiet child who kept to himself, Rudolf Diesel had a knack for getting into trouble. He once risked blowing up the house by opening all the gas jets. Then he took apart a treasured family cuckoo clock to look inside it, and couldn't put it back together.
But Diesel (1858-1913) knew his endless curiosity about how devices work could be put to good use. And it was that drive to innovate that helped him invent the diesel engine, upon which most engines today are still based.
"The inventor believed and argued with great conviction that a really effective machine for generating power was the best attainable defense against the bodily and spiritual enslavement of mankind," wrote Robert Nitske and Charles Wilson in "Rudolf Diesel: Pioneer of the Age of Power. "
Diesel sought answers for his curiosity, and so studied hard. He also loved to draw. He spent much of his free time drawing objects or scribbling notes in the notebooks he carried around with him.
Diesel would stand for hours observing and sketching the tools, ships and models of steam engines on display at the local technical museum in Paris. The first self-propelled vehicle, a three-wheeled steam tractor used by the French army, enthralled him most. How could such a machine run by itself?
When Diesel's parents sent him to London for further schooling, he quickly found two other museums there to study at. As England was still in the thick of the Industrial Revolution, he eagerly gobbled up information about the many mechanical inventions in progress, such as an airship that ran on propellers.
He soaked up current events. Around the world, railroads, steamboats, telegraph lines and electric power were being used. The first trans-Atlantic cable had just been laid down by Cyrus West Field. It let Europe and America communicate on a timely basis. In school, Diesel devoured books about inventors and scientists such as Benjamin Franklin.
In 1870, when he turned 12, his parents sent him back to their hometown of Augsburg, Germany, to continue his studies. By this time Augsburg was becoming such an industrial city that more trained engineers were needed, and Diesel realized he'd found his calling.
He lobbied to go to the Royal County Trade School with his sights set on becoming an engineer. Here he spent time in chemical labs and tinkered with machines to his heart's content. He quickly became one of the top students in his class.
Diesel looked for ways around problems. His parents didn't have extra cash to send him, so he landed a gig as a math tutor to help pay for books and clothes. Though he had less time to study, he vowed to become the top student and studied during nearly every free moment.
By the time he took the final exam in his last year at the school, he was first in his class.
Driven To Excel
In 1873, he started as a mechanical engineering student at Polytechnic High School. He passed his exams with such high marks that he was able to secure scholarships for the rest of his schooling. But in his spare time he still worked as a tutor - this time in French and English - to help pay his rent.
Though physics, math and mechanical drawing were his favorite subjects, he wanted to make sure he got a well-rounded education. So between classes and tutoring, he squeezed in poetry lectures and music concerts. He even dabbled in art, using plaster of Paris to form ellipsoids, hyperboloids and other geometric shapes.
During one lecture on heat engines he attended, Diesel started planning. Professor Carl von Linde told his class that steam engines effectively used just 6% to 10% of the heat energy produced by their fuel.
"The thought of such tremendous waste so stirred the 20-year-old Diesel that he made a notation on the margin of his student notebook, 'Study the possibility of practical development of the isotherm,' " Nitske wrote.
Every time he had an idea, Diesel hurried to jot it down. His notes show he wondered if steam engines could run more efficiently if water were pumped first into a tank, then flowed into a kettle, instead of directly into the kettle. He also envisioned an engine that could run on nearly any kind of liquid fuel.
Steam engines were costly and practical for only large companies. Wouldn't a smaller engine find better use by small businesses across all industries? Diesel decided to try to find out.
He realized he needed more hands-on experience learning about mechanics. So after graduation, Diesel got a job at a refrigerator plant in Switzerland. Though he was a scholar, he was happy to start in the factory, learning how to use the tools and how each part of the refrigeration machines worked. He immersed himself in each part of the process, asking questions and writing down answers for later study.
He became so skilled that in less than a year the company sent him to Paris to help build a new plant. Soon, Diesel even handled the sales side of the business there.
On his own time, he worked on his inventions. Among the first patents he received was one for making clear ice that could be used by bars and restaurants. Until then, most Europeans sawed off blocks of ice from outside during the winter, which then melted in the summer.
His invention led to the production of the Diesel Clear-Ice Machine. It became popular, but didn't make him much money. As he was an employee of the Linde refrigeration factory, the company laid claim to the earnings from his machine.
It was time to strike out on his own. Diesel quit Linde and began working on an engine that would run on ammonia fumes instead of steam. He rented a nearby shed, hired four workers and spent 20 hours each day on his project. He had meals brought to him.
Within a few months, he had a working engine. But he wanted perfection, and he kept tweaking his engine in hopes of finding it.
Mapped Out His Route
In 1890, he moved to Berlin and secured a patent for a method to develop a combustion-power engine. To get more funding, he talked a factory in Augsburg into working on the engine. Because he knew it could take years to complete, Diesel wrote and published his idea so he had a model he could promote.
It took seven years, many adjustments and new models before he was happy with his engine. He wouldn't give up. On the last day of 1896, he was able to show off a model that had an efficiency rate of 76% vs. the 10% rate of the steam engine at the time.
Diesel's engine was smaller, cheaper and easier to run than its steam counterparts. It could power all kinds of transport and factories.
"His engines were used to power pipelines, electric and water plants, automobiles and trucks, and marine craft, and soon after were used in applications including mines, oil fields, factories and transoceanic shipping," according to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Diesel At A Glance
Born: 1858 in Paris.
Died: 1913 in the Atlantic Ocean after falling overboard from the steamer Dresden.
Education: Graduated from Munich Polytechnic.
Achievements:
• Built first compression-ignition (diesel) engine in 1896.
• Helped developed the first ice machine.
--------------------------------------------------------
© Investor's Business Daily, Inc. 2002. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or redistribution is prohibited without prior authorized permission from Investor's Business Daily. For information on reprints, webprints, permissions or back issue orders, go to www.investors.com/terms/reprints.asp.
Diesel's Mind Moved Industry BY NANCY GONDO
FOR INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
For a quiet child who kept to himself, Rudolf Diesel had a knack for getting into trouble. He once risked blowing up the house by opening all the gas jets. Then he took apart a treasured family cuckoo clock to look inside it, and couldn't put it back together.
But Diesel (1858-1913) knew his endless curiosity about how devices work could be put to good use. And it was that drive to innovate that helped him invent the diesel engine, upon which most engines today are still based.
"The inventor believed and argued with great conviction that a really effective machine for generating power was the best attainable defense against the bodily and spiritual enslavement of mankind," wrote Robert Nitske and Charles Wilson in "Rudolf Diesel: Pioneer of the Age of Power. "
Diesel sought answers for his curiosity, and so studied hard. He also loved to draw. He spent much of his free time drawing objects or scribbling notes in the notebooks he carried around with him.
Diesel would stand for hours observing and sketching the tools, ships and models of steam engines on display at the local technical museum in Paris. The first self-propelled vehicle, a three-wheeled steam tractor used by the French army, enthralled him most. How could such a machine run by itself?
When Diesel's parents sent him to London for further schooling, he quickly found two other museums there to study at. As England was still in the thick of the Industrial Revolution, he eagerly gobbled up information about the many mechanical inventions in progress, such as an airship that ran on propellers.
He soaked up current events. Around the world, railroads, steamboats, telegraph lines and electric power were being used. The first trans-Atlantic cable had just been laid down by Cyrus West Field. It let Europe and America communicate on a timely basis. In school, Diesel devoured books about inventors and scientists such as Benjamin Franklin.
In 1870, when he turned 12, his parents sent him back to their hometown of Augsburg, Germany, to continue his studies. By this time Augsburg was becoming such an industrial city that more trained engineers were needed, and Diesel realized he'd found his calling.
He lobbied to go to the Royal County Trade School with his sights set on becoming an engineer. Here he spent time in chemical labs and tinkered with machines to his heart's content. He quickly became one of the top students in his class.
Diesel looked for ways around problems. His parents didn't have extra cash to send him, so he landed a gig as a math tutor to help pay for books and clothes. Though he had less time to study, he vowed to become the top student and studied during nearly every free moment.
By the time he took the final exam in his last year at the school, he was first in his class.
Driven To Excel
In 1873, he started as a mechanical engineering student at Polytechnic High School. He passed his exams with such high marks that he was able to secure scholarships for the rest of his schooling. But in his spare time he still worked as a tutor - this time in French and English - to help pay his rent.
Though physics, math and mechanical drawing were his favorite subjects, he wanted to make sure he got a well-rounded education. So between classes and tutoring, he squeezed in poetry lectures and music concerts. He even dabbled in art, using plaster of Paris to form ellipsoids, hyperboloids and other geometric shapes.
During one lecture on heat engines he attended, Diesel started planning. Professor Carl von Linde told his class that steam engines effectively used just 6% to 10% of the heat energy produced by their fuel.
"The thought of such tremendous waste so stirred the 20-year-old Diesel that he made a notation on the margin of his student notebook, 'Study the possibility of practical development of the isotherm,' " Nitske wrote.
Every time he had an idea, Diesel hurried to jot it down. His notes show he wondered if steam engines could run more efficiently if water were pumped first into a tank, then flowed into a kettle, instead of directly into the kettle. He also envisioned an engine that could run on nearly any kind of liquid fuel.
Steam engines were costly and practical for only large companies. Wouldn't a smaller engine find better use by small businesses across all industries? Diesel decided to try to find out.
He realized he needed more hands-on experience learning about mechanics. So after graduation, Diesel got a job at a refrigerator plant in Switzerland. Though he was a scholar, he was happy to start in the factory, learning how to use the tools and how each part of the refrigeration machines worked. He immersed himself in each part of the process, asking questions and writing down answers for later study.
He became so skilled that in less than a year the company sent him to Paris to help build a new plant. Soon, Diesel even handled the sales side of the business there.
On his own time, he worked on his inventions. Among the first patents he received was one for making clear ice that could be used by bars and restaurants. Until then, most Europeans sawed off blocks of ice from outside during the winter, which then melted in the summer.
His invention led to the production of the Diesel Clear-Ice Machine. It became popular, but didn't make him much money. As he was an employee of the Linde refrigeration factory, the company laid claim to the earnings from his machine.
It was time to strike out on his own. Diesel quit Linde and began working on an engine that would run on ammonia fumes instead of steam. He rented a nearby shed, hired four workers and spent 20 hours each day on his project. He had meals brought to him.
Within a few months, he had a working engine. But he wanted perfection, and he kept tweaking his engine in hopes of finding it.
Mapped Out His Route
In 1890, he moved to Berlin and secured a patent for a method to develop a combustion-power engine. To get more funding, he talked a factory in Augsburg into working on the engine. Because he knew it could take years to complete, Diesel wrote and published his idea so he had a model he could promote.
It took seven years, many adjustments and new models before he was happy with his engine. He wouldn't give up. On the last day of 1896, he was able to show off a model that had an efficiency rate of 76% vs. the 10% rate of the steam engine at the time.
Diesel's engine was smaller, cheaper and easier to run than its steam counterparts. It could power all kinds of transport and factories.
"His engines were used to power pipelines, electric and water plants, automobiles and trucks, and marine craft, and soon after were used in applications including mines, oil fields, factories and transoceanic shipping," according to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Diesel At A Glance
Born: 1858 in Paris.
Died: 1913 in the Atlantic Ocean after falling overboard from the steamer Dresden.
Education: Graduated from Munich Polytechnic.
Achievements:
• Built first compression-ignition (diesel) engine in 1896.
• Helped developed the first ice machine.
--------------------------------------------------------
© Investor's Business Daily, Inc. 2002. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction or redistribution is prohibited without prior authorized permission from Investor's Business Daily. For information on reprints, webprints, permissions or back issue orders, go to www.investors.com/terms/reprints.asp.
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