Augustin Mouchot
Augustin Mouchot (born April 7, 1825 in Semur-en-Auxois , Burgundy ; † October 4, 1912 in Paris ) was a French high school teacher for mathematics, who was best known as the pioneer of solar thermal use.
In 1860 he began his first experiments with a solar cooker, referring to the studies of Horace-Bénédict de Saussure and developing his studies further. In 1866 he developed the first solar steam engine in which the solar radiation was concentrated on a glass cylinder with the help of a concave mirror and caused water to evaporate there. He further developed this technique and received a gold medal for one of his machines at the Paris World Exhibition in 1878 . In 1869 his solar technology book appeared, the second edition of 1879 contained a history of solar devices since antiquity and a description of his solar steam engines.
For the French government, Mouchot worked in 1877 to develop solar energy for the French colonies. However, in a report, the government assessed solar energy as uneconomical. Thereupon Mouchot retired to his teaching post. He died in Paris in 1912 .
Works
- Mouchot, Augustin: La Chaleur solaire et ses applications industrielles , 1869 online in the Internet Archive; The heat of the sun and its industrial applications , 1877, reprint and German translation 1987 in the Olynthus-Verlag ISBN 3-9071-7508-5
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mouchot, Augustin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French inventor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 7, 1825 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Semur-en-Auxois |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 4, 1912 |
| Place of death | Paris |