The Express.
London, England, 1853-02-17 00:00:00

THE CALORIC ENGINE.

At tho meeting of the Institution of Civil Engi-
neer., on To sday, Jaynes Meadows Randal. R. 1., Presi-
dent, in the chair, the pap •r read was •' On the use of
Rimed Air as a motive power," by Mr. Benjunin
Ch-aerwt.

The author, in a short historical notice, stated that Sir
George Cayley had written on the subject in 1841 and 1807,
and had subsequent) y built several engines; but that the
Messrs. Stirling, of Scotland, produced the first really effi-
cient engine, working he means of heated air, in the year
1827. In 0.1) 141:114 ye ,r Mews. l'arkinson •Al Croeley
beiught forward their air engine; that Mr. Ericeson, fol-
lowing more closely the arrangements and form of the ordi-
nary steam engine, constructed an air, or a " caloric en-
gine," as it was termed, in 1533. Messrs Stirling patented
turther improve= eta in 1840, and in 1613 their engine was
described to and iliwuweil at the Institution of Civil En-
gnneere. In 1861 Mr. Ericsson brought forward his present
form of engine, and that the primnple acted upon in b ith
these Ea rl. inventions, and announced as an important
discovery in motive mechanics, was the reiterated use of
the same calorie in the production of power. The mecha-
nical mesas .1 realising this ids a were described, sail it ap-
peared that in both inventions they were substantially iden-
tical. The ejected but air, by being brought into contact
with an extensive metallic surface of wire gauze, was de-
prived of its heat, which the next moment was imparted to
the incoming cold air, and thus the ultimate use of the
furnace was only to supply the unavoidable waste of caloric
by radiation.
l'his view of the subject was strongly contested, as being
inconsiets nt with the best established laws of nature, and
as involving the idea of the possibility of the creation of
power. It was argued at some length, that the employment
of calorie as a motive agent consisted in the development,l
from molecular forces, of a dynamic force, and as such was
directly amenable to the third law of motion—that of
action and reaction being equal and opposite. It was eon-
tended, that sensible caloric was not an indication of the'
presence, but of the abeyanee of mechanical action ; that
these were interchangeable convertible quantities; and,
consequently, that a working force could appear only as
heat disappeared—a conclusion entirely opposed to the
assumed principle of the " Calorie Esgine," that " calorie
could be made to operate over sad over again." It was
silmitted,however,that there was an apparent anomaly in the
application of the law erection and reaction when calorie was
in question, in the fact, that its quantity was not lees after than
before the generation of steam power, if it were estimated
conjointly by water and temperature. Dot it was explained
that a cause might have two classes of effects, and might
require two distinct and different measures, to indicate its
entire efficiency; that while calorie might remain intact,
under the aspect adverted to, it lost by a declination in the
intensity of its temperature, for which the equivalent gain
was a dynamic force—a conclusion as adverse as before to
the idea that such force could be acquired without cost. It
was, in short, in the aspect of a vie rice " force " in
caloric, that the development of mechanical action
must ti 3 considered. These views were further ex•
planted and illustrate,! by a reference to the
analogous difference between momentum and the
more practical =edification or power, named by &nea-
ten and Watt "nnehanieal rower, ' " work," and " duty ;"
and it was dorm that hew aim an apparent discrepancy
existed he rolstlat to the Wed law of motion, but
which wee domed op vim both the measures of power
—that by Wm out that by space—were appropriately
used.
_ _ _

It ten outenied that the " Caloric Beane " wee an-
&lora te a ass-expeasive high menus steam engine,
which ft veal sassed in wastefulness of heat, if it were
not eistrh what its iaventeir improperly. termed
a " ," the ati IMO It was as insisted.
was to absorb the esistilleed somailde calorie
of the esenging air, whiehote impend with steam, was in
very Loge to the easiest calorie ; and to afford
aselbse of he ban ienverted into force, thus
gar has mipeneiss pressure. An ea-
-2=l heeded ea these emelimmerlese, was gives of thel
ashes of sou. he some time maw the fire I
was withdrawn het had bees Mewed in sup-1
tin of, what was myth, the aseinable Inetheeis of a
=liof fem.'
the sasehaniesi effect of bent Wilk be proved
le be Ishpindent ef the chemical madillis, Moot also of
this Atha emoslitaties al beam, it wee mishad that
ef talkie bias a disthest queelien Ilmen that of
the calorie sheedy Ii pareesies„ was mai-
meshy a pemetleal matter, (Indy to be determined by semi-
=eat; aid is this *at of mew it was smpiaimd, fa what
mama the -_pins of haw at aPi motive
thee diem, woe yeah, In favour of eh es a motive
agent, but, on the other band, many admen eensidentiess
were schemed, teadim to shim the improbability of the
system in its prosesa hem.
la istmehi ft war shown, that the " calorie engine"
did not net am Uwe principles, exclusively its own—that its
merits mood up.m mamas ground with theme d the hams
isairiae—ead tbwehee, that ewe druid the pedsenassecs
of sir he hand asseirkir to them of Nemo, it OW am he
antliepated thee be hewn would isimehatahr enpieseede
the Wars ; bestow fir me public starammente mail be relied
?a, the portentous= et the air owls, es_ beard the
' admis ship," Mews, wm very mswwalie le the pre-
leftism et 111111premelseimes of the phis.
The dimwits we eimmaineed by as upsides of the
meted meows adopted Oh O. Cayiey, aWkirs, Parkin.
sea, aad Creaky sad mem,illuelealles bra by
grams, whom it appeared has the meet peelleabie mode
weheaths the air wee OM • INs G. Cayley, by directly tn.
an the hemsdememea hal, that the gnat im-
provement nem* istrebeed by Briers& was the
wire gams tor, whisk however, hand ea in-
=Lps: of eteung's original belga. The practical
of Ihe inanll4llll dhaushess et the batingwish mad mihden, and the rapid deheaetion of the
sielmilleperh WON tally asseidered mei it wee simitted
tisk ham. at went then hi set s le be may
piths tesmied NMI% mem advmelesesse than by the
use of it weld he wrong to dimeasemme the
=
of
to me honed de, mg to overcome the inhumed
*Alamein.
was made to the appendix, to a tract, published
by lb. A. wherein it was shows, that the volume
of the par late wlf.b efts cubic foot of intimacies coal was
d saw almeepharic pressure, was 219,250 cubic
feet, hat be velum of he rursgqaired to sustain combustion
was 111,273 het; the power developed was
473,000,000thc, raised sae het. I t was proposed by Mr. Max-
well Lefroy to pew these pees through water, in order to
purify them from grit, he., end to cool them to a COllllll-
- temperstan. and thee to use them together with
steam, is paw Winders. He proposed a system of co-
axial ey of which the central one was the furnace,
the two ant were cylindrical shell boilers, the water in
the inner efts of which completely covered the surface of
the farame—that in the outer one having its surface always
below the isiseties of the gas pipes in the furnace; the
exterior shells Wag for the purpose of gradually heating
the air in its passage to the furnace, so that the exterior
shell, which hose sustained the bursting pressure, was
always cool.
About esousesteenth part of the power produced would
be impended I. forcing in the air required to sustain the
embanks el the fuel. The coal-hopper win co-axial with
the haulm, mad was kept tool by the supply water, de-
scalding them* its hollow shell into the interior.
The system wwulet be one of high pressure, end some of
its adveaterpe ware mush to be, the absence of a funnel
thetio-lhorthe of the fuel, safety from explosion,
with issessay of dial east, epee:, and labour.
The disesseiss "[the paper was adjourned until the meet-
ing of Tuesday. Feb. 22, when it was announced that the
whole of the evening would be devoted to the subject.