Robert Stirling
Reverend Robert Stirling (born October 25, 1790 in Cloag , Methvin , Scotland , † June 6, 1878 in Galston , Ayrshire , Scotland) was a Scottish pastor and inventor of the Stirling engine named after him .
Life
Stirling attended 1805-1808 the University in Edinburgh . During this time, the university kept no records of its students and their parents. He studied Latin , Greek , logic and mathematics .
In November 1809, Robert Stirling decided to become a priest and began studying theology and law at the University of Glasgow . He graduated on July 4, 1815 and was ordained by the Scottish Church the following year .
On September 27, 1816, he reported in Scotland a patent a hot-air machine , which later became known as the Stirling engine. He realized it in 1818 in several stages. This machine was used as a water pump in the mining industry in Ayrshire, Scotland, where it ran for two years until the hot part of the engine burned out on the cylinder .
In 1819 he married Jean Rankin and they had seven children together. From 1837 until his death he was pastor (minister of the church) of the Presbyterian Church in Galston. By 1840 he developed and patented several machines together with his brother James, a mechanical engineer. In 1840 Stirling was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of St Andrews .
In March 1843, Stirling delivered a powerful engine (for the time) to the Dundee Foundry Company , a foundry in Scotland. The machine had a threshold power of 34 kW at a speed of 28 / min, cylinder diameter: 0.4 m, stroke: 1.22 m, water-cooled. For the first time, a wire mesh regenerator was used. The fuel consumption was only a third compared to the previously used steam engine with the same power. This motor was in use for four years and had an efficiency of 18%, which was never achieved again in the 19th century .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Fritz Steimle, Jürgen Lamprichts, Peter Beck: Stirling-Maschinen-Technik, 2nd edition, Heidelberg: CF Müller Verlag, 2007, pp. 117-120.
- ^ Reverend Doctor Robert Stirling (1790-1878), part-time engineer and full-time minister who invented the Stirling engine (website of the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Stirling, Robert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Scottish priest and engineer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 25, 1790 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cloag , Methvin , Scotland |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 6, 1878 |
| Place of death | Galston , Ayrshire , Scotland |