Ludwig Löw von und zu Steinfurth (engineer)
Ludwig Löw Freiherr von und zu Steinfurth (born June 9, 1875 in Wiesbaden ; † February 27, 1939 ibid) was a lecturer in motor vehicles at the Technical University of Darmstadt and one of the most widely read specialist authors on automotive engineering in the early 20th century. In 1909 the first edition of his book Das Automobil - seine Bau und seine Betrieb was published. Reference book for practice , which in the following years became the standard work for car owners interested in technology and those who wanted to become one.
origin
His parents were the Nassau lieutenant in the General Staff Erwin Löw von und zu Steinfurth (born October 5, 1833) and his wife Therese Josephine Schindler (born April 9, 1840).
life and work
Ludwig Löw studied at the Technical University of Darmstadt and graduated there in 1901 as a graduate engineer . He worked as an engineer in Wiesbaden and in 1909 accepted the call from the Technical University of Darmstadt to head the department for automobile construction and operation and to teach as a "lecturer for motor vehicles". His standard work on the construction and maintenance of a car appeared in 1909 and began with the following lines:
“This book is a generally understandable description of the automobile, but not a description that only fits an automobile that was built at a certain time - 1900 or 1905, for example, nor is it a description that is attached to the instruction manual of a certain brand , furthermore no description of machine elements, [...] but the most interesting phenomena of special automotive technology are put together to reveal a necessary revelation of the automobile that the historical development of the automobile and its parts - from the beginning to the present day - with the help is justified by natural laws in the shortest and clearest possible representation. "
The work, which was published in the 5th edition in 1924, comprised 375 pages and was richly illustrated by the standards of the time (almost 400 photos and illustrations). Ludwig Löw made the decision for more pictures in the 3rd edition: "As in the previous editions, the greatest value has now been placed on short, clear words and good pictures". With each edition, Löw picked up on current developments in automotive technology, in 1923 for example "the sheet metal disc wheels with their easy usability as single front wheels and double rear wheels" or in 1924 "removable cylinder heads, compressor motors, the starting principle and numerous other peculiarities of the Maybach car, the Graf Sodenscheid Change gears, the Rumpler drop car, numerous cars with left-hand drive and center shifting of the gearbox ”.
In the 5th edition, Löw dared to adopt a strict definition of the automobile:
"The automobile is a vehicle that 1. is moved by machine power, 2. carries the energy source that is used to move it, 3. uses ordinary road curbs, and 4. picks up the people or goods to be transported - at least in part - itself. [...] By omitting the fourth condition, we would get a road locomotive. [...] If we omit condition 3, we get the so-called railway buses or railcars. [...] The elimination of the second requirement leads to the so-called trackless railways, which consist of electric cars to which the energy is supplied by an overhead line. Not using the first point - 'moved by machine power' - would lead to a cyclist with a bicycle. "
In addition to the explanations about engine technology, drives, tires, etc., Löw also referred to current legal developments to regulate automobile traffic ("police regulations") and incorporated his own experiments, for example with regard to radiator technology. Again and again he mixes application practice ("wire-spoke wheels are harder to clean than wooden wheels") with school physics:
“A wheel does not slide over the ground, it rolls over the ground, ie the points with which the wheel touches the ground stand still at the moment of contact. If the axis of this wheel moves - let's say - at 100 km speed, the point of the wheel circumference opposite the stationary point - since it is twice as far from the ground as the axis - must also move at twice the speed, i.e. move at a pace of 200 km. Of course, this creates considerable air resistance. In order to reduce it on wheels with ordinary spokes [...], the ordinary spokes have sometimes been wrapped in two sheet metal plates, which give the wheel a completely smooth exterior. "
Von Löw used it to describe the forerunner of the rim .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ German National Library, call number: 1921 A 8271
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Löw von und zu Steinfurth, Ludwig |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German lecturer for motor vehicles at the Technical University of Darmstadt |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 9, 1875 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wiesbaden |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 27, 1939 |
| Place of death | Wiesbaden |