New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-08-25
THE NEW MOTIVE POWER.
Capt. Ericssss and his CaIoric ship-A Great
Experiment at Hand.

Can't, EricsseB and his Caioric Ship-A Great
Experiment at Hand.
We took hasty glance on Monday at
the new steamship, building by Perrine, Patterson
* Stack, in Williamsburgh, and intended to test
Thoroughly the celebrated Calorc Engine, invented
by Capt. Ericsson, and which, il successful, bids
fair to supersede steam in all the nnumerable
,,ses TO which that power is applied.
Capt. joins Ericsson, a distinguished theo-
retiod and practical mechanic, member of many
scientific societies, and Knight Of the Order Of
vasa, was born in Vemeland, Central Sweden in
1903. His strsng taste for mechanics while
child was noticed by Count Platen, an influential
ansmber Of the Swedish Court, who procured for
Ericsson when only nine years old place as ca
det in an Engineer Corps, and at 10 years old he
was made leveller in the survey Of the proposed
Ship Canal from the Baltic to the North Sea.
Subsequently,. he left the corps and entered the
army Of Sweden, at first with the rank Of ensign;
still he spent much of his time in mechanical
studies and specustiOns, and projected one of his
earliest notable InventiOns-a Flame Engine"
intended to work by condensing fame instead OF
steaul. H. 1896 he went to England with the
idea of putting his engine in operation, but was
seriously disappointed in learning that mineral
fuel would rot answer. Of course the machine
was q failure, and was never revived. But the in
ventor was not disheartened, for in 1899 he COM
feted for the prize offered by the Liverpool and
Manchester Railroad for the best Locomotive, and
built one which ran at the Them incredible speed
of fifty miles per hour. few years afterward
Mr.. Ericsson to this country where his has
become widely known In connection with numerous
inventions OF great utility. Ms improved management
Of guns applied on board the U. s. steamer Prince
ton his propeler-his semi-cy cylindrical engine-hls
centrifugal blowers, &c, are well-knowD. He added
not little 10 department. OF the Great Exhibition
last year, where he had instrument for measur.
De distances at hydroststic gusge for measuring
ulds under PRESSURE reciprocsting auid-meter, an
alarm barometer, pyrometer, rotary fluid meter,
lead model Of gas engine, &c. But of all his
Inventions that which hes attracted most attention. and
which or successfully will work revolution In motive
power hardly second to that of steam tself Is the Cal
o1ic Engine. This invention first brought before
the public Ia 1893 at London where he made engine
Of fvehoiss power and exhibited 1t In operation to
several scientific gentlemen IL tinidly but gener
ally approved by intelligent men; but Brunei the en-.
sineer Of the Thames Tunne-a mos, extraordinary
dbe elI eDt chemst) decided against the feasibility Of
the machine and by Of the powerful ndlrec.in
Auepcs Of that decision, the Englsh Government
which had al first seemed inclined to give the matter
their Luon-et 1t drop. and 1t forgotten by
the public. Latterly Mr. f. has revived the Caloric En-
CINE In this country and built two or three which have
bs IN successful operation for nearly year.
In regard 10 this wonderful engine we hardly know
If we can convey to the reader any accurate idea
but with the valuable aid Of tbs editor of Hunts Mr.
chants Mo9a.ine, we will make the attempt. Two
Calorc engines at work In the foundry of Messrs
Hong Delamater foot of Thlrteeuhst, N. r., one of
live aud the other sixy horsepower the latter has four
cylir ders Two, of feventytwo Inches in dismster.
stand ssde by aide over each of these 10 placed one
much ,mser, Wtbin these, are pi'tons, exactly it,
iipg their respective cylade', aud SO connected that
tto,e within the lower and upper espoei' NR0'e y;
setber Under the bottom of each Of the lower cyin.
ders Ere 10 applied No other furnaces employed
S her boilers water used TIE lower 10 called
the woski O la der the upper the supply cylinder
IS the piston in the supply cylinder down. valves
placed in Its top open and II becomes filed with cold
air. As the piston rises within IT, these wales close and
the air within. unable to escape 10 it came passes
through another set of valves, into receiver from
whence It has TO pass into the working cyln'
der, 10 force up the working piston wlthin 1t.
AZ II leaves the receiver TO perform this duty passes
through what 10 called the regenerator, which we
shs explain. where 1t becomes heated to about
four hundred and fifty degrees and upon entering the
working Under, Il Is further heated by the fire under
meath We have said the working cylinder 10 much
larger In dsmster than the supply cylinder. Let u.s.
for the sake OF iusr alton merely suppose to contain
double the The cold air which entered the upper
cylinder Will therefore, but hall MI the lower one In
the course q 10 passage to the latter, n."ever we
us suppose, that as eners the working cylinder, has
become heated to about four hundred and eighty de-
grees At this Temperature. atmospheric air expands
10 double is volume. The atmospheric AIR, there
fore which contained within the supply cyluder, Is
now capable OF filing Of twice It's size. With this
enlarged capacity 1t enters the working cylinder we
will further suppose the area of the piston within this
cynder to contain thousand square inches, aud the
area of the piston In the supply cylinder above. to
contain but tive hundred. The air presses upon
th's with a mean force, we will suppose, Of about
eleven pour0s 10 each squire Inch or 10 otner
words with weight OF 800 pounds Upon the surface
of the lower piston, tho heated cir s he~ever pressing
inward wi,h like force upon each of t enc thousand
souare inches or In other words with force OF llVVO
pounds Here then, force which, after overcoming
the weight above leaves surplus OF ooVV pounds,
we make no allowance for friction. lnN snrpus FUR
nishes the working power OF the epeine IL will be
reaciv that afer one stroke OF pi'tons maze
II Will continue to work 9th ihis force 81 long az sut
Client bss, h supplied TO expand the air In the working
cynder 10 the extent stated for, long the of
TIE lower piston greater than that OF the upper, ana
like pressure Is upon every square inch OF EACH 90 long
viii the greater piston push forward the smaller as
twoposrd weight upon one end VI ealsr CO will be
quite sure to bear down pound placed upon the
other We nesd hardly say, that after the air in the
woi king eyhsder has forced up the piston within IL
valve opens ard IL passes ost the pisons, by force
of gravity descend and cod air agsia rushes into aud
fils the supply cylinder ss we have before described.
IN THE the two yIders are alternately sup
piled ans discharged causug the p.C In each to play
Up end down Substantially rs they do 10 the steam en-.
gioe We readers will be able understand AZ
least The sralprncipes which this maehtneoPe
ra,ea its Cylinders draw their supply from the
atmosphere Toe cy finders of the siea N engine
supplied by scaldrg vspor drawn from kissing
5oters TIE csoiic engine draws la its iron lungs,
the same element which expands thoss Of the most
delicate chld, and derives lis motion and iss
power nor tina, sustaining source upon which de-
pebjs The oxlstsncs Of all animate lie We have er-
deavored 90 eSElso che construction OF the caloc