Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1852-09-24

: oNeI edch hi tpese is Pi9ceu ole inuc
smaller. Within these are pistors, exac,
Wy fitting their respective cylinders, and S
connected that those within the lower an
upper cylinders rove together Unde
the bottom of each Of the lower cylinder
fire is applied No other furnaces ar
! employed. Neither boilers nor water ar
used. The lower is called the workin;
cylinder; the upper the supply cylinder
As the piston in the supply cylindc
moves down, valves placed in its top open
and it becomes filled with cold air. A.
the piston rises within it, these valve.
close, and the air within, unable to escape
as 1t came, passes through another set oI
valves, into a receiver, from whence it ha:
to pass into tho working cylinder, to f3rc
up the working piston within it. AS ii
leaves the receiver to perform this duty
1t passes through what is called the regen.
orator, which we shall soon explain, where
1t becomes heated to about four hundred
and fifty degrees, and upon entering the
working cylinder, it is further heated by
the ire underneath We have said the
working cylinder is much larger in diam
etar than the supply cylinder Let us for
the sake of illustration merely, suppose it
to contain double the area. The cold air
which entered the upper cylinder will,
ta.refore, but half fill the lower one. In
The course of It's passage to the latter, how
| ever, We have said that it passes through
regenerator, and let US suppose, that as
enters the working cylinder, it has be-
come heated to about :our hundred and
eighty degrees. At this temperature, at
mospheric air, therefore, which was CON
tanned within the supply cylinder, is now
capable of filing one of twice its size
With this enlarged capacity it enters the
working cylinder. We will farther sup
pose the area of the piston within this cyl
indcr to contain thousand square inches,
and the area of the piston in the supply
cylinder above, to contain but five hun
dred. The air presses upon this with a
mean force, we will suppose, of ahou,
eleven pounds to each square inch; or in
other words, with a weight Of $500
pounds, Upon the surface Of the lower
piston, TIE heated air is, however, pres
sing upward with like force upon each
of its one thousand square inches or in
other words with force Of IL, 900 pounds.
Here, then, is force which, after over
coming the weight above, leaves surplus
of $500 pounds if we maze no allowances
for friction. This surplus furnishes the
working power of the engine. 1t will be
readily seen that, after one stroke of its
piston is made, it will continue to work
with this force, 80 long as sufficient heat
is supplied to expand the air in the work
ing cylinder TO the extent stated for so
long as the area of the lower piston il
greater than that of the upper, and like
pressure Is upon every square inch of each,
so long will the greater piston push for
ward the smaller, as a two pound weight
upon one end Of a balance will be quite
sure to bear down one pound placed upon
the other We need hardly say, that af-
ter the air in the working cylinder has
forced up the piston within it, valve
opens, and as it passes out, the pistons, by
force of gravity, descend, and cold air
again rushcs into, and fills the supply cyl
inder, as we have before described. In
this manner the two cylinders are alter
natcly supplied and discharged, causing
the piston, in each to play up and down,
substantially as they do in steam engine.
We trust our readers will be able TO under
stand at least the general principles upon
which this machine operates. Its cylin-
ders draw their supply from the atmos-
phere. The cylinders Of the steam engine
are supplied by scalding vapor, drawn
from kissing boilers The caloric engine
draws in its iron lungs, the ssme elcmen.
which expands those of the most delicate
child, and derives its motion and its pow
er from that sustaining source upon which
depends the existence of all animate life
We have endeavored to explain the con-
struction CT the caloric engine. Its most
striking feature consists in what is called
by its inventor the regenerator. Before
describing this, we will present the idea
upon which it is based. First, let it be
remembered that the power of the steam
engine depends upon the heat employed
to produce steam within its boilers. 1t
will be seen that from tho very nature of
steam the heat required to produce it,
amounting to about l,200 degrees, is en-
tlrely lost by condensation the moment it
has once exerted its force upon the piston.
If, instead of being so lost, all the heat
used in creating the steam employed could
at the moment of condensation, be recon-
veysd to the furnace, there again to aid in
producing steam in the boilers, but very
Iistle fuel would be necessary, none, in
fact, except just enough to supply the
heat lost by radiation. The reason is OBJ
vious. Let us suppose the steam has par
sed from the boiler, has entered the cyIin-
der, has driven the piston forward, and
is about to pass into the condenser, there
to change its form, and be again converted
into water. This steam yet in the cylin-
der, and uncondensed, possesses all the
heat it contained before passing ou. of the
boiler 1t has driven the piston forward,
but in that effort it has lost no heat
That source of power it still contains
Let it be supposed that the heat contained
in the steam could at the moment it is
converted into water within the condenser,
be saved, and by some device be again
r Al