Samuel Brown

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Samuel Brown
Brown's gas vacuum machine from 1823

Samuel Brown († 1849 ) was an English engineer and inventor who, at the beginning of the 19th century, was one of the first to develop an internal combustion engine or gas engine using hydrogen as fuel. Brown, a cooper by trade (he also patented improvements to machines for making drums and other containers), has been described as the "father of the gas turbine." While living at Eagle Lodge in Brompton , West London from 1825 to 1835 , he developed the first working gas turbine, which was a mechanical success. He set up two machines for demonstration purposes on the property of the lodge.

Brown's gas engine

In two patents dated December 4, 1823 and April 22, 1826, Brown suggested filling a closed chamber with a gas flame and thus expelling the air; then he put down the flame by injecting water and operated a turbine as the air flowed into the partial vacuum created in this way. The idea was apparently borrowed from James Watt's steam engine , using a flame instead of steam to create the vacuum.

Brown later (around 1826) designed a machine that used hydrogen as fuel - an early example of an internal combustion engine . It was based on an old Thomas Newcomen steam engine , had a separate combustion and working cylinder , and was cooled by water circulating around the cylinder in a jacket or casing. The water was kept in motion by a pump and cooled in contact with the outside air. In 1825, Brown started a company to produce the machine. It had a displacement of 8800 cm³, but only achieved 4 hp. He tested the machine by using it to propel a vehicle that drove up Shooter's Hill on May 27, 1826. The great effort required to operate the gas vacuum machine, however, prevented its use.

Quote:

"In 1826, Mr. Samuel Brown applied his gas-vacuum engine ... to a carriage, and ascended Shooter's hill to the satisfaction of numerous spectators. The great expense, however, which attended the working of a gas-vacuum engine, prevented its adoption. "

The machine was also used to pump water and propel a river boat. Brown started a company to manufacture machinery for boats and river barges, one of which is said to have reached speeds of 8 miles per hour upstream. The company was unsuccessful, although this may have been more due to the gas supply than to the machine itself.

Web links

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  1. ^ Lance Day, Ian McNeil (Ed.): Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology . Routledge, London 1996, pp. 188 .
  2. ^ The Repertory of Patent Inventions: And Other Discoveries and Improvements , 1825, p. 439
  3. ↑ From: Roland Gardens . Survey of London: volume 41: Brompton (1983), pp. 149-155. British History Online
  4. ↑ T. Gill (1826), The Technical repository , p. 383
  5. ^ Engine Cooling Systems
  6. ↑ Car History 4U - History of Gas Powered Motorized Vehicles ( Memento of the original from August 25, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.carhistory4u.com
  7. ^ Robert Henry Thurston, A History of the Growth of the Steam Engine , p. 162
  8. ↑ Greenwich Guide - Greenwich Day by Day - May 27
  9. ↑ Alexander Gordon: A Treatise Upon Elemental Locomotion and Interior Communication. 1834, p. 51
  10. ^ Elijah Galloway, Luke Hebert: History and Progress of the Steam Engine. 1834, p. 263
  11. ↑ John Ross: A Treatise on Navigation by Steam. 1828, p. 168
  12. ^ Cars - 1820-1829
personal data
SURNAME Brown, Samuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English engineer, inventor of an internal combustion engine (gas engine)
DATE OF BIRTH 18th century or 19th century
DATE OF DEATH 1849