Chapter 1 Rudolf Diesel and the Fire Piston

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The project described in this chapter, a sort of primitive fire lighter, is a wonderful example of physics in action. By quickly compressing air inside a cylinder, we can raise its temperature enough to start a small bit of fuel stuffed inside it on fire.

It sounds impossible, but with a few easy-to-find parts, we can make a device that produces fire from nothing but air!

A New Kind of Automobile Engine

Rudolf Diesel was one of the youngest students ever to enroll in the mechanical engineering program at the München Polytechnikum. During his studies at this prestigious German university, the precocious ...

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